


Bent and Broken

by SecretAgentFemme



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Sidewinder Series - Abigail Roux
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:09:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6170366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretAgentFemme/pseuds/SecretAgentFemme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU of Cut & Run/Sidewinders boys. Friendships have been mixed up and backstories are radically different.<br/>All will be revealed in time, and I promise HEAs after some (who knows how much) angst. Anything that's wrong (canonically) about the boys is probably intentional, but feel free to offer critiques or suggestions!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One –

Kelly woke when the familiar hum of the giant metal radiator that heated the dorm units stopped. He breathed quietly in the dark of his room, waiting for the noise he thought had startled him awake, wondering for a moment at the extreme quiet before he figured out that it was the absence of familiar sound that had woken him. He continued to listen, wait for a sign that it had woken Nick or Ty, sleeping feet away, but separated by the wall of his room.

When he was alone sometimes, more frequently than he’d like to admit, Kelly pressed himself against the wall, as if he could with the right pressure seep through to the other side where his best friends lay. It was a surprisingly accurate analogy for how he felt right now, especially in relation to his two best friends. Ty and Nick were so close to him, so much a part of who Kelly was, but separated by something completely impermeable. Fuck. He got morose at night.

Muttering to himself, Kelly turned onto his back, forcing himself away from where he had been pressed against the wall in his sleep. He punched his pillow to fluff it under his neck and then froze as he heard the click of a door opening. Holding his breath, Kelly strained in the quiet to hear something that would indicate who was up. If it was Ty, he should get up and make sure the guy wasn’t roaming in his sleep. If it was Nick, though…Kelly paused without finishing the thought.

That was pretty typical for how he felt around Nick lately. Before he could make a decision either way, Kelly heard the soft click of his own door catch as the knob slowly turned. He forced himself to relax enough to feign sleep.

The soft scuffling of feet on the hardwood stopped at the edge of his bed, and Kelly almost tensed again as nothing else happened. Kelly fought the urge to open his eyes, feeling like he was trying not to startle a feral cat. Another apt analogy.

Before he could go too far down the road of thinking of ways his foster brother now sometimes reminded him quite a lot of a wary feline, the bed depressed as Nick crawled in, interrupting Kelly’s thoughts. Nick scooted close and Kelly couldn’t prevent the small gasp of shock as Nick’s icy skin bumped his.

Nick’s voice murmured in the dark as he burrowed close into Kelly’s side. “Sorry, man. Ty wouldn’t share the blankets and its fucking cold in here. I’m about to have frostbite.”

Kelly couldn’t stop himself from responding, trying to keep his voice low as well. Something about the quiet made him wary of noise. “It’s fine. Just stop putting your cold fucking hands all over me and go to sleep.” His voice was more curt than he’d meant and Nick didn’t respond.

Kelly cursed himself for always managing to say the wrong thing lately and tried to go back to sleep. It must be late, or rather really early, because rarely was there this much quiet. In a dorm that housed 200 underclassmen on 10 floors, usually there was someone up, somewhere.

Nick shivered and Kelly sighed before wrapping his arm around the bigger man and pulling him closer. Nick murmured something sleepy that Kelly couldn’t understand and tucked his arm over Kelly’s middle. Nick was an aggressive cuddler, what Ty liked to call a space invader, but Kelly was used to it. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done this a thousand times over the last 6 years – sharing nightmares and insomnia right along with epic hangover snoozefests that saw them in bed past noon. They were both touchy people – it was one of the things that had clicked for them right away. Nick needed a touchstone and Kelly needed… well. Kelly wasn’t sure what he needed, other than Nick.

 

Kelly remembered the first day they’d met, and how easy it had been to slip into comfortable friendship with Nick.

He’d just ridden in an airplane for the first time ever, less than 16 hours after his parent’s funeral, and had been escorted from the plane by the stewardess that had checked on him every 30 minutes of the four hour trip. She had her hand on his shoulder, resting on top of the strap of his backpack, and steered him confidently down an escalator to where a friendly looking middle aged woman waited with a gangly redhaired boy with bright green eyes.  
Kelly had been told by his case worker that his Mom’s childhood best friend had petitioned for custody of him after the accident that killed his parents, and that he was going to live with her at least temporarily while the courts decided what to do with him. He’d been told that she was a licensed foster parent, and had custody of another boy his age. The fact that this meant that Kelly would now be living with another kid had somehow escaped his understanding until now.

Marisa, the friend of his Mom’s, was vaguely familiar from photos he had seen of a much younger version of his parents on their wedding day. The smile that was wide and full standing next to his Mom in her white dress was now small and trembling at the corners. Kelly was wary of this, having grown used to adults accosting him with sympathetic hugs and clucks of words that contained things like “orphan” and “poor dear.” He didn’t know what to do with those words or those hugs, so he’d started trying to find ways to head them off. Right now he wasn’t sure how to interrupt the sadness long enough to say hello, but Nick solved the problem for him.

With a grin that Kelly would learn to approach with caution, Nick launched himself at Kelly with his arms held wide.

“I’m so excited to meet you! I’ve never had a brother, well, not a real one at least. I have a bunch of sisters but they don’t live here and Ty is basically my brother but really he’s my best friend, but we sometimes call each other brother, ya know? So now I’ll have a foster brother too and that’s some cool shit –“

Before the rush of words could overwhelm him, Marisa snapped out of the watery moment and tried to pull Nick off of Kelly. “Nicholas! Christ, you’re going to scare him before we even say hello! And for fuck’s sake, don’t swear while the stewardess is still here.”

Kelly laughed, a deep belly laugh that he hadn’t been sure he was still capable of and met Nick’s dancing green eyes as the taller boy pulled back, still patting Kelly, his hands gripping his shoulders.

“Kelly?” Marisa asked. “Was your trip okay? Are you okay? I know that’s a hard question right now, but…” Marisa trailed off. Kelly was starting to have hope that this was going to be an okay place for him.

He smiled up at the shining faces in front of him and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m okay.”

 

\---

 

“It’s real good that you’re okay, buddy, but could you stop patting my back now?”

Kelly tried to process what the voice in his ear was saying while realizing that he’d been asleep. His arms were both wrapped around Nick, whose head was tucked up against Kelly’s chest, breathing into the thin tshirt he wore and warming the skin underneath. He was, he noticed, absently patting Nick’s back with his right hand, his left clutching lower around Nick’s waist.

Kelly laughed, surprising himself with the sound. He stopped patting but left the hand where it rested against Nick’s upper back.

“Sorry, Nicko. I was dreaming about the first time we met.”

He hadn’t meant to share that and winced slightly, glad Nick’s face was buried and couldn’t see his expression.

“That’s really sweet, gentlemen, but if you two are done with your reminiscing, can we get going? If you fuckers make me miss breakfast I’ll break both your necks.” Ty was standing in Kelly’s open doorway, already dressed and a scowl firmly fixed on his tanned face.

He wore dark jeans and a dark hoodie with the hood up, his face looking rough with several days of stubble gracing his cheeks.

“Don’t be jealous, Ty, you know I like to cuddle with you too.” Nick rolled toward the doorway, breaking the hold of Kelly’s arms easily and lounged on his back as he eyed Ty. “Maybe not so much when you’re going for the unibomber look. Damn, man, do you _want_ everyone on campus to be afraid of you?”

Kelly struggled into a sitting position, running his hand over his face and hair. He peeked at Ty just as the smirk started to appear on Ty’s rugged face.

“Maybe,” he drawled.

Nick stood and stretched, his tattooed pale skin on display in the morning sunlight. Before his arms reached fully up, Nick shivered violently and seemed to pull back in on himself.

“Bahhhhh… it’s so cooooolldddd.” He turned half way to eye where Kelly was still mostly covered in blankets on the bed.

Kelly quickly rose and started pushing Nick toward the doorway. His voice was firm.

“No. No. You are not going back to bed. Go put some clothes on and you’ll be plenty warm.”

Nick groaned and fought back halfheartedly as Kelly corralled him toward Ty, who had backed into the connecting hall. Ty met his gaze but didn’t smile back, his hazel eyes shuttered and all feelings locked away. Kelly shut the door on his two best friends and thumped his head against it. It was so easy to fall back into the easy camaraderie the three of them shared, easy to pretend that the masks both of his friends were wearing were real. Then he’d remember all the things that Nick and Ty hadn’t told him. Secrets they’d only shared once they’d already been revealed to the world. The hurt that spun into being made his heart ache and his throat close. Kelly closed his eyes tightly and worked to bury the anger and pain.

 

\---

Kelly spotted one of his classmates at a table near the one he sat down at with Ty and Nick. He was balancing a tray that contained four glasses of apple juice and two of orange juice. The trio was of the “divide and conquer” mentality when it came to dealing with on campus dining services. Neither Ty or Nick were very good at standing in lines, so the three always planned their actions like a military campaign as they reached the entrance. Ty would scan the room, looking at what was on offer that morning and comparing it to where there were the most students milling about. Inevitably, Ty would take the food line, using his glower to prevent anyone from attempting to speak to or in anyway interact with him, and fill three plates as high as possible. It was an intricate balancing act that Ty had perfected because, Kelly though, god forbid they have to go back through the line a second time.

Usually Kelly was responsible for coffee, and Nick would get the juice, both being necessary to prevent bickering between Ty and Nick over acceptable morning beverage options, but today Nick had spotted a guy he had been wanting to chat up at the coffee station and had moved off in pursuit.

The classmate that Kelly had seen was easy to spot, being one of the bigger men roaming the college campus. Zane Garrett cut an imposing figure, and most people gave him nearly as wide of a berth as they did Tyler Grady.

Speak of the devil, Kelly thought as Ty slammed the loaded tray down onto the table and followed Kelly’s gaze. His brow furrowed as he seemed to notice Zane for the first time and Kelly could tell that Ty had quickly assessed the much thinner man and found him lacking. Zane had two inches of height or so on Ty, but he was substantially thinner and less muscled. His shoulders were incredibly broad but almost skeletal in their thinness. Kelly had noticed that Zane seemed to actually be _filling out_ contrary to the possibility that someone so thin had ever been thinner, but the guy actually seemed healthier now than he had during fall quarter when he’d shared Kelly’s Psych 101 class.

“You know the junkie over there, Kels?” Ty inquired as he sat with his back to the wall of the dining area. If there wasn’t a table adjacent to the wall, Ty waited next to one until the diners decided they were done eating and ran from the building. Even Nick thought it was insane, but neither of them could deny Ty’s need to feel safe.

Kelly snapped back to attention as he realized who Ty was talking about. “What?” he asked sharply.

“Big scarecrow looking dude with the skinny arms,” Ty continued, oblivious to Kelly’s tone.

“I know who you meant, Tyler.” It was clear that Kelly’s lower growl had caught Ty’s attention this time and his gaze snapped to Kelly’s.

“Whoa, Doc. I didn’t mean to hit the agro switch. What’s the deal?” Ty held up both hands with his face the picture of innocence.

Kelly was trying to formulate a response that wouldn’t be ripping into Ty and was interrupted by Nick’s arrival with a single cup of coffee in one hand, the other tucked into the pocket of his jeans. He stood at the table for a second before sitting, eyeing the other two.

“What’s up, Doc?” Nick quipped as he sipped from the mug.

Kelly growled and reached for his plate of food as Ty continued to project innocence. Ty and Nick had taken to calling him Doc ever since he had taken medic training classes offered at the YMCA in their hometown. Kelly wanted to be a doctor, but he was a long way from having the title, though his friends had no doubts he’d achieve it.

Kelly watched Ty turn his attention to Nick and hand him a plate of food. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, some other kind of potato. Ty was never too particular about what actually made it onto the plates, just that he completed the task with as little fuss as possible.

“His name is Zane Garrett. He’s in a couple of my classes this semester, and was in one last. He’s a good guy.” Kelly didn’t need to say more, certain that Ty would understand the message he was sending. Usually Ty wasn’t one to rush to judgement about someone, and Kelly found it odd that he had done so.

“Understood,” Ty nodded and relaxed back in his seat.

Nick raised an eyebrow and turned his head back and forth between the two. “Someone woke up on the grumpy side of the bed this morning.”

Kelly couldn’t help but reply. “Well, seeing as I woke up being smothered to death by your big ass body, I can’t imagine why that would be.”

Nick started to reply and broke off as a throat cleared behind Kelly. Damn Ty for always taking the wall side so Kelly could never see what was coming.

“Uhhh.. I can come back later,” the voice said and Kelly winced as he realized who it belonged to. He schooled his face into a casual expression and turned in his seat to look up, and further up, until he was looking at Zane Garrett’s face.

Kelly quickly decided that there wasn’t an explanation for what Zane had heard that would make sense, so he decided not to give one at all.

“Hey Zane, how’s it going?”

Zane’s had been staring at Ty until Kelly spoke and he quickly snapped his coal black gaze back to meet Kelly’s questioning look.

“Oh. Erm. Yeah.” Kelly waited patiently, thinking that Zane might not be as upset about hearing that Kelly was sleeping underneath Nick as he had momentarily thought, if the way he was looking at Ty was any indication. Too bad Ty had shut that door rather firmly.

“I was just wondering if you had finished the worksheet for Econ? You said you had been struggling with some of the math, and I know this one had a lot of it, so I thought…” Zane stopped and Kelly took pity on his obvious discomfort.

“Thanks, that’s really cool of you, but I got it. This asshole,” Kelly nodded his head at Ty, “is pretty good at math and he was around when I was going through the set.”

Zane nodded his head a few too many times and started to back away from the table. Kelly watched him glance at each of them before finally turning away. Kelly chuckled as he turned back.

“My mouth, right? I’m going to start giving people the wrong impression.”

Nick nudged his leg under the table with a foot and grinned at him.

“What are you doing with your mouth to give the wrong impression, Kels? That sounds dirty.”

Kelly rolled his eyes as he finished the last of his eggs. They were all nearly finished eating, which was good since they all had a 9am class to get to.

Kelly got the last word as they stood to drop off their empty trays. “You don’t even like coffee, you asshole, so why didn’t you bring me any?”

Nick cackled as he hurried away from Kelly.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for explicit m/m sex, I guess? I mean... probably you shouldn't be reading this if that's a problem... I dunno.

Chapter Two

 

Kelly didn’t get a chance to catch up with Zane during their classes that day, and Kelly had started to get the impression that Zane might be avoiding him. He resolved to try harder to talk with Zane during their Economics class together on Wednesday and figured that was the best he could do for now. He was always the first back from classes on Mondays, but the three of them had fallen into a routine, so he knew Ty wasn’t far behind him and would be itching to go to the gym.

Ty Grady was not built to sit still in a classroom for hours on end, and the lord only knew why he had decided that college was the best idea. Usually by the end of classes each day, Ty was bouncing off the walls so hard that only an exhausting workout or sparring session could bring him down enough to focus on eating or doing homework. Kelly had started to change into gym clothes when he heard the door to their suite of rooms bang open.

“Abbott, you better be in that room putting sweats on and not nerding out over your homework!” Ty’s bellow could probably be heard on the ground floor and Kelly didn’t bother to respond as his bedroom door flew open. He turned to the doorway with one eyebrow lifted, his workout t-shirt half way on and hanging from his neck.

Ty nodded and turned away without further comment. Kelly trailed him into the short hall and back into Ty’s room as he tugged his shirt the rest of the way on, and found Ty leaning over a laundry basket and muttering to himself. Kelly leaned against the doorway with one arm stretched above him. That was kind of like a warm up stretch, right?

Ty began stripping out of his clothes to change into shorts and a tank, exposing his lean muscle covered abs. Kelly knew it was pointless to try to maintain any sense of privacy and had accepted years ago that his two best friends were basically exhibitionists. It had thrown him for a loop for a second when Nick and Ty had jointly come out as bisexual, but Kelly had never been uncomfortable around the guys, so why would he have started then?

It had hurt more that his best friends had kept a secret from him that they had shared for so long. He still couldn’t understand why they thought they couldn’t tell him. Kelly forced his mind away from that path and spoke.

“Where’s Nicko?”

“Had some study group thing. I think he wants to bang one of the chicks in his group, so he went to the thing.”

Kelly rolled his eyes and turned to the door. Ty passed him, practically speed walking in his hurry to expend some of his pent up energy and jostled Kelly’s shoulder on the way by, sending him bumping into the wall.

“Jesus, Grady. If you break me before we even get there, you won’t have the pleasure of beating the crap out of me.” Kelly’s words were joking, but they had a hard edge to them he couldn’t contain. He was having more and more difficulty with his frustration lately, and it was a new challenge for the ever laid back one of the group.

Ty turned and Kelly was forced to pull to a stop, nearly bumping into Ty in front of him. Kelly could see the concern in Ty’s hazel eyes and he mentally cursed himself. Kelly could feel Ty assessing him, trying to read his thoughts and mood. He shifted from one foot to the other and worked to appear impassive. Trying to explain to Ty that his feelings were hurt would be close to impossible on a good day, and ridiculous to consider when Ty was practically vibrating with the need to let off steam. Ty’s eyes narrowed momentarily before he reached out a hand to tap Kelly on the cheek. The move was so quick that Kelly couldn’t react, so he just rolled his eyes.

“We good?” Ty asked warily.

“We’re good, Grady. Just move your ass.”

Ty winked at him and turned, shaking his ass as he sauntered to the main door of the suite.

 

\---

 

Hampton College had a state of the art gymnasium and recreation center, probably one of the reasons it had been a top pick for Ty when considering West Coast schools. It also had two full sized boxing rings, which were almost always unused, unless the three of them were there. Kelly hadn’t quite figured out why the college had decided to include boxing rings, but he couldn’t really complain.

Kelly had been kickboxing since he moved to West Virginia after his parent’s deaths, and Ty and Nick had been doing it for even longer. While Kelly could hold his own against either one of them for a while, both Nick and Ty had him beat on stamina and sheer power. Kelly hadn’t been joking when he said Ty was going to beat him up. He usually had some manner of bruising after sparing with either man.

Kelly had watched as Ty slowly morphed from his frantic level of energy to an intent focus on his technique and then past that to almost impishly fun. This was the problem with Ty. The longer you fought him, the happier and more buoyant he became. Kelly had rarely seen him happier than when he was getting the shit beat out of him in the ring. Not that Kelly had personally accomplished such a feat, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Ty signaled a timeout after Kelly got in a final solid kick to his midsection, and the two of them both hopped out of the ring to wipe off sweat and guzzle some water. Ty bumped Kelly’s arm just as he went to take a drink, causing him to splash water down his front. Kelly squawked in outrage but Ty was gesturing with his chin toward the other side of the large open space.

“Your friend from this morning is here.” Ty’s eyes were hard as he watched Zane Garrett moving along the edge of a large space spread with mats. From Kelly’s view it looked like he was headed to the free weights along the far wall.

“Yup. Looks like.”

“Want to go say hi? I could lift a bit.” Ty’s voice sounded casual but Kelly froze midway to lifting his water to his mouth. He recovered before Ty could turn his look on him.

“Sure, sounds good.” Kelly wasn’t sure what Ty’s goal was, but he couldn’t imagine Ty would pick a fight or anything. He seemed curious about Zane Garrett and Kelly wondered when the last time was that someone had sparked more than a brief moment of interest for Ty. They picked up their towels and headed for the mirrored wall that contained an ungodly number of free weights and other lifting equipment. Zane had just settled himself on a bench and was working his arms as they approached. Kelly was watching his reflection in the mirror closely, and noticed the change in Zane’s expression when he saw them coming. Too bad Kelly couldn’t read the guy well enough to know what the change meant.

Zane lifted his chin in greeting to them both and continued to breathe evenly as he lifted and lowered the weight.

“Hey Zane. This is my roommate, Tyler Grady. Ty, this is Zane Garrett, who you met briefly this morning.” Kelly felt awkwardly businesslike as he introduced the two, but knew he was the only one more likely to speak than to grunt right now. Ty and Zane seemed to be sizing each other up.

After setting down the weight, Zane offered his hand to Ty, who seemed almost surprised as he reached out to shake. Kelly couldn’t tell if they were into each other or hated each other on sight.

Ty seemed to make a decision finally and he smirked that trademark smirk at Zane. “Any friend of the Doc’s is a friend of mine.” Ty’s West Virginia drawl was laid on thick and Kelly wanted to roll his eyes.

 

\---

 

Zane was grateful for how much practice he had at schooling his expression. Without it, he didn’t know exactly what he’d be doing while looking at Tyler Grady, sneering or smiling. The guy was a chameleon, glowering heavily one minute, turning on the schmooze the next. He looked at the smirk on the tanned face blankly before turning back to Kelly.

“You have two roommates, right? The redhead that was there this morning too?” Zane asked politely.

Kelly was nodding as he was arranging weights around him. Ty was simply standing, smirking at Zane, with his muscled arms crossed against his defined chest. Zane blinked. That was a little more descriptive than he was going for. Damn this fucking attraction to the man.

“Yeah, that’s Nick O’Flaherty. We all grew up together. Friends since junior high kinda thing.”

Zane was nodding back, carefully keeping his focus on the blond man and ignoring the one with darker hair. Kelly was also well muscled and attractive, Zane noted with detachment, but despite what he had overheard this morning, he was fairly sure that Kelly was straight. Zane had seen him at a couple of parties on campus with girls wrapped around him, not looking displeased. Not that it mattered, since Zane had a singularly focused attraction right now.

“I’ve got friends like that,” Zane agreed. “Couple of them even go here too, you know Eli and Digger?”

“Oh yeah,” Kelly said, remembering the two men he’d seen Zane with several times. They had also shared Kelly’s Psych class last quarter. “Are you guys all the same age?”

“Nah, Eli is 19. Digger and I are both 21. We took a couple years off before starting school, which meant we started at the same time. Worked out pretty good.”

Kelly was steadily lifting the weight behind his head, stretching and working his (whateverthefuck) muscles, and he focused on Zane. They both seemed determined to ignore Ty, who was still watching  Zane closely. Zane picked back up the weight he’d been using and started curling it with his other arm.

“That is pretty cool. Where are you guys from?”

Ty was now stalking around like a big cat, and Zane wasn’t sure if he was planning to lift weights or just examine the scene in front of him from a different angle. Kelly was following Zane’s gaze as he watched his roommate and Zane snapped back to focus.

“Ah, Texas. We all went to school together there, but Digger’s originally from Louisiana.”

“My friend Owen lived in Louisiana for a bit, and Texas. And Arizona where we met, and now San Diego. He’s traveled a lot. He said he liked New Orleans but that it was muggy as hell.”

Zane laughed. “I wouldn’t know, haven’t ever been. Digger is always trying to get us to take a trip to the bayou.”

“You should do it,” Kelly advised. “Traveling to new places is great, and when else will you get the chance?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I couldn’t really travel for a while,” here Zane seemed to change course suddenly. “I mean, I didn’t have the money or the time, but now I really do. I guess I’m not used to it yet.” He grinned at Kelly and Kelly couldn’t help but smile back. Zane obviously had some stuff he didn’t talk about, but he had shared more in this conversation than in all the previous months Kelly had known him.

“I know what you mean. I still forget that I don’t have a curfew.”

Ty snorted from his position behind Kelly, and Zane watched as Kelly turned to face him.

“You never paid attention to curfew when you had it.”

Kelly made a noise of dismissal. “Yeah, but at least I remembered I had to sneak in. Never got hit in the face with a shovel, did I?”

Ty grinned suddenly and nodded in agreement. “That is true. But you also didn’t have Grandpa Chester who woke up anytime someone made a peep. And besides, Deuce was on point and he ducked. I couldn’t see what was coming.”

Zane didn’t think he wanted to know what sneaking in after curfew had to do with a shovel, but he waited and switched up his weights as he listened to the easy bickering between the two.

“So you’re saying that you don’t know enough to duck when someone else ducks?” Kelly was clearly baiting his friend, his tone light and mocking.

Ty shook his head decisively. “Wasn’t possible. Little fucker has good reflexes and Chester is fast for an old guy. I was doomed.”

“You were something.” Kelly appeared finished with the conversation because he turned back to Zane.

“I was the good kid, Nick and Ty were always getting me into trouble.”

“Bet you at least convinced your parents that was the case.”

Something passed over Kelly’s face as Zane spoke, but just as quickly his eyes were dancing with amusement again.  “Nah, my parents passed away when I was 12. I lived with a woman that also raised Nick. We’re foster brothers. Ty’s the only one of us with a real family and he got beat with a shovel.”

Zane couldn’t help but laugh at the flat delivery and Ty’s outraged response.

“Dude, don’t tell people my family beat me! The shovel was a one time thing!”

Zane kept laughing as Ty pointed at an innocent looking Kelly in warning. “We’ll see who is taking a beating if you keep that up, Abbott.”

Kelly shook his head and smiled at Zane again, clearly displaying how much fun he had needling his friend. He was supremely unconcerned about the bigger guy looming over him, even though Zane had noticed that Ty had a good five inches on Kelly, making him only a few inches shorter than Zane himself. He was also more heavily muscled than Zane could hope to currently be. The last year, okay, the last three years, had been pretty rough on his body.

Zane missed whatever Kelly had said in reply and Ty was huffing as he tried to glare Kelly down. The two obviously cared about each other a great deal, and the easy affection the men showed was interesting to observe.

Kelly stood abruptly, grabbing Zane’s attention back from its wandering.

“Okay, gentlemen. I’m done for the evening and have homework calling my name. Ty, don’t strain a muscle. Zane, it was good to chat.” Kelly performed a salute and turned to leave. Zane was surprised for a moment when Ty didn’t follow him. Other than class times with Kelly, he’d never seen any of the trio alone.

Zane finished his lifting routine while trying to study the other man without being obvious. Ty was incredibly fit, and Zane couldn’t help but be impressed with his body. He was long and lean, all tan skin and perfectly toned muscles. He had watched the sparring session and while Kelly had appeared to be a solid fighter, Ty was clearly holding back against the smaller man. Zane would really like to see the guy go all out.

Ty hadn’t spoken to Zane since Kelly had left, not that he’d spoken to him before that either. Zane was ready to go home. As he stood, he glanced down at Ty, still seated on a lifting bench, working his biceps. They didn’t need the work, Zane noted to himself.

“Nice to meet you, Tyler Grady.” That was all he could manage, and Ty’s only response was to lift one dark brow.

Zane exited the gym quickly and headed back toward his dorm. He would rather shower there than in the locker room, since he’d been half hard since he’d first noticed the two in the boxing ring. Fucking Tyler Grady. He pushed all of Zane’s buttons.

Even with his mind circling, detailing every moment and Ty’s every expression, he was still alert enough to notice the sound of footsteps behind him. Zane didn’t falter in his steps, the last thing he wanted was whoever it was to know he had noticed them.

It was dark in the shadows where Zane had cut through two looming dorm buildings, and the sun had set before he’d gone into the gym. It was January and it got dark early in Oregon. Zane kept his pace natural and plotted his path. He was trying to think of how to check who was following him without appearing obvious. Before he’d made a decision, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, much closer than he expected. Zane instinctively grabbed the hand and whirled around, but his momentum was used against him as he was slammed against the brick exterior of the dorm building behind him.

Zane’s breath whooshed out in a huff and it took a second for him to hear the words being spoken next to his ear. His captor had him pressed to the bricks and was invading his space, standing firmly against Zane’s body, pinning his arm to the wall behind him.

“-wasn’t expecting you to attack, Jesus fucking Christ. I thought you heard me coming.”

Zane spoke without any forethought and his eyes widened as his own words shocked him.

“I’d _like_ to hear you coming.”

Ty reared back as if he’d been hit before his lips crashed down on Zane’s. Zane responded to the kiss heatedly and at the same time, twisting his wrist to attempt to break Ty’s hold.

Ty kissed him with force, Zane’s head was pressed against the brick and he could do nothing but respond. He groaned into Ty’s mouth and strained his body against Ty’s. Ty’s answering growl send a shock of heat through Zane’s stomach as their tongues fought for access.

“You don’t know shit about fighting, do you?” Ty enquired between kisses.

Ty’s lips were shockingly warm and soft, in contrast to the aggressive way he kissed. His tongue swept out to lick Zane’s mouth, and he nipped at Zane’s lower lip. Zane was overwhelmed  by him but managed to answer his question.

“Is that what we’re doing? Fighting?”

Ty rubbed his body firmly against Zane’s, like a cat, and Zane could tell they were both fully hard. He finally freed his wrist, either Ty had let go or given up and Zane buried his fingers in Ty’s hair. Ty broke the kiss and worked his way along Zane’s jaw and to the tendon in his neck, sucking the pulse point there. Zane’s other hand wrapped around Ty’s back to keep them firmly together and the heat between their bodies was incredible.

Ty had gotten a hand into the front of Zane’s shorts and Zane nearly came at the first brush of his calloused hand. Ty closed his fist around him and Zane groaned again.

“Shhh,” Ty admonished against Zane’s open mouth, kissing him again as he stroked Zane’s length.

Zane tried to think past the feeling of Ty’s hand and mouth and won logic for a moment.

“Not here.” His hand on Ty’s hip was almost pushing the other man away, while still clutching to him, Ty’s shirt fisted in his grip.

“Where?” Ty asked simply, and when Zane realized that Ty wasn’t going to stop this, a thrill ran through him.

“My dorm.” Zane panted between kisses as their mouths met over and over. Ty had stopped stroking him, leaving him better able to concentrate.

“Got a single.”

“Go,” Ty ordered and backed up from Zane abruptly.

Zane shivered once as the warm hand slipped away and blinked stupidly for a moment. He turned back to the path and Ty fell in beside him. Neither of them spoke on the short trek to Zane’s dorm. He prayed that Digger and Eli were still on their run. They hadn’t wanted to go to the gym, but Zane didn’t want to run in the cold. They’d split up and Zane was marveling at the luck. No one was in the elevator or his hall, which contained 6 doors to single dorm units usually reserved for upperclassmen. Zane unlocked his door and barely turned the knob before Ty’s body was shoving into him from behind, knocking him into the room. Zane staggered and turned just as Ty was flipping the door lock before he launched himself back at Zane.

They scrabbled to remove each other’s clothes between prolonged moments of kissing and touching. Zane had never kissed someone so close to his height or so much broader than him. He was putting on weight and muscle, but Ty was built solid and firm.

Zane panted as Ty backed up to shed the last of his clothes. As their bodies came back together and Ty’s hard cock bumped his own, Zane blew out his breath.

“What do you want?” Zane said.

Ty growled something back as he wrapped a large hand around their cocks together. Zane was on the edge again, not sure if it would matter what Ty wanted in a moment. Ty backed off an increment and met Zane’s eyes.

“I don’t bottom well.”

Zane looked at him questioningly but Ty only smirked back at him. Zane wasn’t willing to play games.

“What does that mean?”

Ty raked a hand through his hair. “Just what I said. I don’t bottom well. I… well, I’m not good at being held down.”

Zane pulled Ty in for a kiss. “So I won’t hold you down.”

Ty spun them both and landed on Zane’s bed, spread out beneath him. Zane had been with plenty of guys, but not one that could manhandle him like this. It was fucking hot.

Zane reached up into the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a condom and lube. He held the condom up and looked at Ty.

“We don’t have to fuck, you know.” Zane wanted to be clear. “Or you can top.”

Ty shook his head restlessly and palmed Zane’s cock. At the same time he slipped a hand around Zane’s neck to pull him close. He breathed his words into Zane’s ear. “Shut up and fuck me already.”

Zane was sprawled across the top of Ty and when he lifted himself to kneel between his legs, Ty spread his legs, exposing his hard dick and heavy balls more clearly to Zane. Zane poured lube onto his hand, and slid his hand slowly over Ty’s ball sac, and down. Ty’s arms were moving over Zane’s body, petting his chest and abs, curling into a fist on his side. Zane slid a finger against Ty’s tight opening and pressed with minute pressure. Ty slapped Zane’s shoulder and wiggled his hips.

“Come on, man.”

Zane responded with a firm push as he breached Ty. Ty’s exhaled groan was a clear encouragement, so Zane quickly added a second finger, dipping to kiss Ty’s lips, sliding his tongue into Ty’s mouth as his fingers slid into Ty’s body.

“Yesssss,” Ty groaned and bucked his hips up toward Zane. Zane slid his free hand around Ty’s erection and ran a thumb over the tip where it was steadily leaking precum.

“Oh fuck yeah,” Zane responded, parting his fingers and twisting as Ty writhed below him.

“Enough, please, fuck Zane. Now.” Ty’s words were disjointed but Zane reacted to the sound of his name on Ty’s lips. He gave Ty’s cock a last stroke before releasing him and putting on the condom. Zane covered himself in more lube and pressed against Ty’s ass.

He stopped and waited for Ty to look at him.

“Ready?”

“Fuck yes. Ready ready ready.” Ty chanted, trying to force himself onto Zane’s cock.

Zane slid into Ty with as smooth a motion as he could. He was trying hard to reign in his impulse to slam into Ty’s body. Ty was quivering under him, obviously suppressing some need to move or fight or react. Ty let out a long breath and Zane waited, watching the eyes that were fliting about.

Zane let his hands run from Ty’s hips to his chest and back, slowly stroking him.

“Good?” he asked, his voice low.

Ty’s legs tightened around Zane and he nodded, eyes closed.

“Tyler,” Zane growled.

Ty’s eyes opened in a flash and bored into Zane’s. “Are you waiting for an engraved goddamned invitation, Garrett, or are you going to fuck me?”

Zane surged forward, setting up a rough and steady rhythm, stroking in and out of Ty’s body. Zane’s head dropped forward, his body awash in the sensation.

“So fucking good, Ty. So, so tight.” Zane changed the angle of his thrust, pulling Ty’s leg higher on his hip and Ty flexed with a shout. Zane carefully thrust the same way again and was rewarded by Ty’s eyes fluttering closed again on a long moan. Zane nailed his prostate with each thrust, wringing more helpless moans from Ty.

Ty grabbed the back of Zane’s neck and pulled their foreheads together. Zane breathed into Ty’s mouth as their lips met and retreated. Ty’s other hand was reaching for his cock and Zane batted it away. He took Ty in hand and stroked him firmly. Ty’s back was arched off the bed and his body trembled before giving way. He came on both of their stomaches, their chests pressed together as Zane continued to pump into Ty’s ass. The clench of his orgasm around Zane was his undoing and he came seconds behind Ty’s last spurt. The moment suspended as Zane felt like he came with his full body, the charge racing through him.

Zane slumped over, turning to rest on his side next to Ty after carefully pulling out. Ty lie sprawled out on his back, one arm resting over his face. Zane let his head thump to the mattress as he tried to catch his breath. They were both sticky and sweaty and flushed, but Zane couldn’t remember feeling better.

Zane reached over Ty’s body toward his laundry hamper and fished out a towel. The laundry was clean and folded neatly into the hamper where Zane had left it.

He wiped Ty off before himself and disposed of the condom. He slumped back down, his head landing on the arm Ty had stretched out. Cautiously Zane eyed Ty’s profile, trying to read his expression. He wasn’t sure if Ty was going to bolt now or what. Ty’s eyes remained closed but his mouth curved into a smirk.

“Close your eyes, Garrett. We’re resting.” Zane obediently closed his eyes and rested his body against the side of Ty’s. A rest sounded good right now. He’d figure Tyler Grady out later.

 

\---

 

Nick arrived back at the dorm at the same time that Kelly returned from the gym. Nick asked where Ty had gone and only received a grunted response before Kelly hit the shower. He looked like he’d been sparring with someone, likely Ty, so he probably wanted the shower to work out some of sting from the worst of the hits. Nick wasn’t particularly concerned about either roommate. Well, no more than usual.

He dropped his bag of school crap at the foot of the couch and lay back outstretched. He had some reading to do, but not much work this close to the beginning of the quarter. He’d gotten his other work done at the study group before working off a quick bit of tension with the giggly blonde chick from his class. She’d been eying Nick since the first day of class and had made it clear that she was down for some quick fun. Nick liked girls like that. He avoided messing around with the ones that wanted more than a good time.

Nick realized he must have dozed off, as when he opened his eyes, Kelly was sitting in the armchair across from him, books spread out on the coffee table in front of him. They didn’t actually have a common room in their suite, but had instead converted Nick’s room into a lounge area, and Nick slept wherever. They knew he wasn’t going to sleep by himself, and so they hadn’t even kept the bed a week. Nick was a chronic insomniac, and the only time he slept was with one of his buddies. It wasn’t sexual, or at least it didn’t have to be. Nick was grounded by touch and Kelly and Ty knew him well enough to know that he needed it, and provided.

Despite how messed up their lives had become, Nick knew he had the best friends in the world.

He couldn’t stay still now that he was awake again and he was hungry. He bounced upright and fixed his eyes on Kelly. Before too long, Kelly sighed and capped the highlighter he’d been using.

Kelly’s changeable eyes were blue today, the color brought out by the blue t-shirt he was wearing. The blue met Nick’s green and seemed to be patiently waiting for whatever idea Nick was going to present.

“Dinner?” Nick asked, rubbing his finger over his lips.  

Kelly stood as he nodded and ducked into his room. He came out wearing jeans instead of sweats, tucking his wallet into his back pocket.

 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

 

Zane woke slowly, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of a warm body pressed against his back. Sometime during their “rest” the two had straightened out on the single bed and Ty had cuddled up to Zane. Now he could tell that Ty was rested, as his hard-on was pressing against Zane’s back. Zane pushed back against Ty’s body and Ty made a low noise, still mostly asleep.

Zane was surprised, but not unhappy that Ty had stayed, and he was curious if the other man would be up for another round. Ty’s hand clenched against Zane’s side, holding him in place and Zane felt a warm mouth heating the back of his neck. He shuddered and reached behind him to stroke Ty’s skin.

Ty was working his way down Zane’s body with his hands while his mouth was nipping and kissing along the top of Zane’s spine and base of his neck, trailing warm fingers down his sides at the same time. When Ty’s hands slid across his ass, Zane pushed back against him, urging him on. Ty stilled for a moment, a sudden lack of movement that startled Zane enough for him to half turn to look over his shoulder. He met Ty’s heavy lidded gaze and the other man seemed to snap out of whatever had happened.

Ty leaned forward to kiss Zane languidly as Ty stroked his hands down Zane’s hips and over the crest of his ass lightly, teasing with soft touches that made Zane moan quietly into his mouth.

They didn’t speak as Ty began rocking against Zane, his hardening cock pressing against the crease of Zane’s ass. Ty parted Zane’s cheeks and slid his cock into the crevice, not trying to penetrate, more like Ty was using him to rub off. Zane was content to let Ty do as he liked, as his own cock grew rock hard.

Zane heard the quiet snick of a cap being flicked open, and the cool pressure of Ty’s finger at his entrance. Zane let out a controlled breath as Ty entered him, finger sliding slowly into Zane’s body.

It would have been easy to feel trapped, with Ty’s hard body pressed close behind him, and the wall directly in his face, but Zane was too relaxed to feel boxed in. Ty’s warm pressure at his back as he slowly worked another finger into Zane’s body distracted him from their lack of space.

Ty had one arm locked around Zane’s waist, holding him in place as he opened Zane’s body slowly, his pace as languid as his kisses. After long minutes Zane felt Ty pull back from him slightly, and listened to the crinkle of a condom wrapper. Ty jerked Zane’s hips back to meet his and pressed the head of his cock firmly against Zane’s opening. Zane reached back again with his free arm, the other one was trapped underneath him, and grasped Ty’s hip, urging him forward. Neither of them had spoken so far and Zane wasn’t willing to chance breaking the mood.

Zane felt Ty’s full body shudder as he slowly worked his hips, inching into Zane slowly. Ty’s head dropped to rest between Zane’s shoulder blades, his forehead pressed firmly against Zane’s back as his cock slowly breeched the tight ring of muscles. Zane could hear the shudder in the other man’s breathing and held still, waiting for Ty to pull himself together. Without warning, Ty punched his hips forward at the same time as he slid an arm under Zane’s body to pull his chest flat against Ty’s. Zane groaned involuntarily and canted his hips back at Ty, giving in to the rhythm of fast thrusting as Ty sped up, pounding into Zane’s willing body. Ty’s other hand reached around to grab his stiff cock and Ty stroked it firmly in time with his thrusts.

Ty’s movements grew more erratic as he worked them both up to the peak and Zane found himself making incoherent noises. Zane had never been fucked like this, with both of them on their sides, pressing their whole bodies together. It felt intimate and close, like Ty’s whole body was surrounding him, cradling him in his arms. His range of motion was limited and it was astonishing how much that heightened his other sensation. All he could do was press back against Ty and let the other man bring him over the edge, and Ty was doing exactly that. Zane’s balls drew up and he let his head fall back, resting on Ty’s shoulder, their faces almost pressed cheek to cheek.

Ty changed the angle of entry just slightly and it was enough to tip Zane over the edge as Ty brushed his prostate. The orgasm felt like a lightning strike, freezing all Zane’s muscles before releasing them in a torrent of pleasure. Ty’s exclamation of pleasure was muffled against Zane’s neck, but he could feel every inch of Ty shuddering as he came. He worked out the last of their come, stroking into Zane a few last times as he matched the motion with the hand wrapped around Zane’s cock. Ty stilled, sliding out of Zane as his cock softened, relaxing back into the mattress, arms still firmly around Zane’s body. They both panted into the silence, the lack of light in the room making everything feel dark and close, intimate.

Zane was almost asleep when Ty spoke into the stillness.

“Can I stay?”

Zane cleared his throat before speaking. “Sure. Will you hand me my phone from the nightstand? I want to tell my friends I’m crashing out early so they don’t knock.”

Ty grunted in confirmation and Zane felt him twist his upper body around, before coming back to envelop Zane. He slid the phone into Zane’s hand and sighed as he pressed his face back into Zane’s spine. Zane squinted as his phone lit up and he realized he had several messages from Eli and Digger. He thumbed past them quickly, then wrote a quick message that he sent to them both.

 

**I’m fine, just crashed out for the night. Leave me alone if you value your life.**

 

He powered the phone down because he wasn’t going to try to plug it into the charger and didn’t want it to be dead tomorrow, before reaching across Ty’s body to toss it to the floor. Ty groaned when he moved and settled back down as soon as Zane was lying down again. They hadn’t even cleaned up from the last round, but Zane couldn’t make himself move again.  

 

\---

 

“Ty must have made a new friend,” Nick commented over his shoulder as Kelly followed him into their dorm room. They’d gone to dinner and returned without hearing from or seeing Ty. Nick wasn’t worried, Ty disappeared on the regular, popping back up the morning after without a word as to where he had been. As if smelling like come and lube wasn’t enough of a giveaway.

Kelly snorted behind him and said “I wonder if Zane..” before stopping himself. “Never mind. I don’t wonder. I don’t want to know.”

Nick shook his head as he flopped back down on the couch and observed Kelly. The blond man was shaking his head ruefully and standing with his hands on his hips.

Nick groaned and shivered on the couch, despite still wearing his jacket. “It’s freezing in here again.”

“Oh yeah,” Kelly mused. “I think I remember the radiator turning off last night right before you came in.”

Nick pinned him with a look. “Turning off like cycling off or turning off like dying? Kelly, do we not have any heat?”

Kelly shrugged easily and walked over to the thermostat on the wall. It only displayed the temperature in the room, not controlled the heat, since that was done by the building maintenance. Kelly moved to the radiator in the hall and called back to Nick.

“It’s completely cold. I think it died.”

Nick groaned and covered his face.

 “We’re going to freeze to death. Fucking charming old buildings, my ass.”

Kelly laughed and appeared in the doorway again.

“I think we just need to report it, Nicko. I don’t think it’ll get cold enough in here to freeze with all the other rooms still having heat.”

“Why does this always happen to us?” Nick whined.

Kelly disappeared and reappeared a minute later with a thicker down jacket on, pulling a cap over his ears.

“Come on, you big baby. We’ll report it to the RA before it gets too late and go for a walk.” He tossed another knit cap at Nick and started for the door. Nick grumbled but got up to follow, pulling the hat down as low as possible and shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets.

“Why are we going for a walk in the freezing cold?”

“Fresh air is good for you.”

“I get fresh air walking to class every day.”

Kelly ignored this perfectly logical statement and headed down the hall to the single unit on the floor that was the home of their floor advisor.

 

After a short chat with the RA, Kelly and Nick made their way down the stairs and outside. Kelly turned in the direction of the river and Nick dutifully plodded along beside him.

Hampton College was southwest of Portland, Oregon, in a small town called Paulson. The town was built around the Butler River, and the river cut diagonally through the town. Their dorm was about eight blocks from a small park set on the bank of the river, and Kelly was headed there. They didn’t speak as they trudged along, the streets empty in the way that was typical of a small town on a weeknight. It was after 8, and even in a college town, most of the main streets cleared after dark. Things would start to stay open later as the days grew longer. Kelly had lived in several small towns in his life, and so far, Paulson had turned out to be reassuringly familiar.

Kelly breathed in the sharp cold air and watched his breath unfurl before him on his exhale. At the park, they both took seats on the top of a picnic bench, their feet resting on the seat. They faced the river and Nick huddled into Kelly’s side, as though burrowing for warmth. Kelly fished out the joint he has stuck in his pocket and held it up to Nick.

Nick’s voice held laughter as he looked to Kelly questioningly.

“Did you just casually have a chat with our RA with weed in your pocket?”

Kelly shrugged and put the joint between his lips. He flicked a lighter with his hand cupped to block the wind and it lit up the area around them enough to make him squint. He inhaled deeply and blew a cloud of smoke into Nick’s face.

“Is that a problem for you?” Kelly asked.

Nick shook his head and took the offered drag. He spoke while holding in the smoke, little bits drifting out of his mouth.

“Nah man, mad respect.”

Kelly laughed and they smoked the joint in companionable silence. Ty never joined them on their occasional pursuit of herbal refreshment, and it had become a bit of a tradition for the two of them to smoke down by the river when Ty occasionally roamed. Kelly enjoyed the relaxed buzz and he and Nick had always seemed to be able to talk about anything while they passed the blunt back and forth in the dark. Tonight Kelly couldn’t shake one of the thoughts that had been plaguing him and he spoke before considering the ramifications.

“Did you think I’d care, O?” he asked into the dark.

Nick looked startled and it took him a visible moment to collect his thoughts before he responded. “Care about what?”

Kelly tried to find the words and gestured vaguely. He always talked with his hands when high.

“You and Ty. That I’d care that you.. like dudes or whatever. That you’re both bi.” Kelly looked directly at Nick when he said this, needing to understand but so afraid of what he would hear.

Kelly watched as Nick turned even more pale than he’d been from the cold. His face looked like someone had kicked his puppy. Nick reached out and grabbed Kelly’s arm, holding it hard.

“Do you really think that, Kels?” Nick’s voice was practically a whisper. He looked haunted and afraid.

Kelly quailed for a moment, then pressed on. He needed to get this out, and he wanted Nick to be the one he talked to. Kelly tried to speak but ended up only nodding. He couldn’t help the flip that his stomach gave as Nick’s expression grew even more upset.

“I’m so sorry, Kels. I didn’t… I didn’t ever think about it like that. That you’d think it was because of you.” Nick sounded anguished as he continued.

“You’ve been thinking that since last spring?”

Kelly nodded.

“It was never because of you, Kels. Ty and I… we didn’t ever even really talk about it with each other. Everything happened so fast. I mean…” Nick trailed off. Ty and Nick had only ever explained the bare outlines of the events of last spring that had changed all of their lives forever.

“I… I mean. I knew that I… had feelings for Ty. I’d been half in love with him since we met. He was just…”

Kelly answered for him, knowing what Nick was trying to say.

“Magnetic.”

Nick nodded vigorously and continued. “He was. He is, I mean. He’s just, Ty. And I think you can’t help but be drawn to that, at least a little. And I knew that I liked girls too, and eventually that I liked guys other than Ty. But West Virginia, man.” Nick was running his fingers through his hair now, and Kelly watched his friend try to explain. He appreciated that Nick hadn’t known how badly things had thrown Kelly, and that he seemed to regret it.

“I had planned to tell you both before we graduated. I knew you wouldn’t care, at least most of me did. I thought you might be weirded out because of how touchy feely I am, but I knew you wouldn’t hate me. Maybe just not let me sleep in your bed anymore.”

Nick stopped and grinned ruefully at Kelly before he face sobered again as he dredged the past back into focus.

“Then Ty and me, and he freaked out, and I didn’t know why. Like, beyond ‘my best friend just kissed me’ freaked out. And he had kissed back first. So I knew something was off. Then I couldn’t tell you, because I’d be telling for Ty, too, you know? Until I knew what I was telling, I had to wait.”

Kelly understood, at least a little, what had happened.

“So you didn’t know about Ty either, until…” Kelly stopped. He didn’t really know that part. Ty and Nick had glossed over almost all of the details.

“No. No, I had no idea. I thought it was one sided for years, man.” Nick shook his head.

The weed was long gone, but the pleasant high was making Kelly less frustrated than normal. Nick seemed tense, but that could just be the cold. He had his arms wrapped firmly around his middle and was hunched slightly over his knees.

“But you guys didn’t ever?” Kelly felt like he was speaking in half sentences, trailing off at the end of every one to spare them both the words.

Nick jerked his whole body back and forth in a negative. Kelly scooted closer on the tabletop and wrapped an arm firmly around Nick’s waist.

“I thought for a minute, when we first kissed, that maybe we could start something. I’d been with other guys by then, ya know, to figure things out. He kissed me back at first and I thought ‘hell yeah’ but then.” Nick stopped and swallowed hard. He was looking at his shoes as if they might have the words written out for him.

“He lost his shit. He started swinging at me and screaming. I knew he wasn’t homophobic or against gay people or whatever, so I was shocked.” A longer pause before Nick continued this time.

“Then he just… melted. Started crying and shaking. Rocking, you know, how he does?” Kelly nodded. Ty rocked whenever he was uncomfortable or stressed out. It soothed him and allowed him to calm down when things got to be too much.

“He wouldn’t talk to me about it, wouldn’t explain. Whenever I’d bring it up he’d just go cold and blank. That’s when I knew something was wrong. It still took me way too long to figure it out.” Nick’s voice cracked on the last words and Kelly tightened his arm around him.

“Okay. Okay. I get it.”

Nick breathed out a heavy exhale. He started to speak and then stopped before coming up with the words he was trying to say.

“It was never you, Kels. I knew you had my back. You’ve always been there for me.”

Kelly nodded and pulled Nick off the picnic table. They’d both been sitting still in the cold for too long.

 

\---

 

Nick was shivering harder by the time they made it back to the dorm building, and the heat of the entrance felt amazing to them both. Their suite was still chilly, but it actually felt less frigid after their trek outside. Nick went to shower and Kelly went to bed to consider what he’d learned.

He’d gotten the impression that Ty and Nick had shared the secret of their sexuality behind his back for years, and that was what had hurt so much. To hear from Nick that it wasn’t something they kept just from Kelly, but even from each other, made him feel better. He was still disappointed that his very best friends had kept something from him when he had never kept anything of himself back, but he could understand their fear.

Kelly was half asleep by the time Nick padded into the room on bare feet. His red hair looked auburn when wet, and he was dressed in a long sleeved thermal and boxers. Kelly had left the overhead light on in his room and shook his head when Nick reached out to it with a questioning tilt. Kelly sat up, his back to the wall, facing Nick in the doorway.

“I have one more question,” he said steadily, watching Nick closely for his reaction. Nick blanched slightly but lifted his chin and straightened his shoulders.

“Will you kiss me?”

Kelly had to stifle his laugh at Nick’s expression, a combination of shock and as though he’d bitten into something sour. He kept his face straight and explained, taking pity on his friend.

“You and Ty seem to be pretty into kissing dudes, so I thought I’d give it a try. Who better to help me out?” His voice was easy, but he tensed in preparation for Nick’s reaction.

“Kelly. Doc.” Nick was holding his hands out, as if trying to ward off Kelly’s words. “You’re straight, dude.”

Kelly nodded, like this was a normal conversation about what they were doing tomorrow. “I know, but I’ve never considered being anything else. How do I know if I like it if I’ve never done it?”

Nick’s eyes were still wild and he glanced around the room as if it would contain the answers he needed. “You don’t think that would make things weird?” He ran long pale fingers through his wet hair, mussing the already tangled strands as he shifted from foot to foot.

“Is it weird for you and Ty?” Kelly inquired.

Nick shook his head.

“No, but we’ve always been…”

“What?” Kelly asked flatly. “Affectionate? So have we.” He waved a dismissive hand and pinned Nick with his stare.

Nick didn’t seem to have a response for this. Kelly was fascinated by his normally sure and confident friend’s reluctance.

“Am I not your type?”

“No, Kels. That’s not it at all. I don’t think of you like that.”

“Well, I haven’t thought of you like that before, but now I want to try. Are you scared of a little kiss, O’Flaherty?”

Nick was shaking his head before Kelly could even get out all the words.

“You can’t goad me into kissing you, Kelly. I don’t understand where this is coming from all of a sudden.”

Kelly shrugged.

“I’ve been not thinking about things for a long time now, and it doesn’t feel good.” He smirked at Nick. “Now I’m thinking, and I think I want to feel good.”

Nick released a long breath and held Kelly’s gaze.

“Fine. You want it, you got it.”

Kelly pointed his finger at Nick as he approached. “No half assed bullshit either, O’Flaherty. You better give me your top notch kiss.”

Nick grinned, his confident manner suddenly reappearing as he moved closer. Kelly rose up onto his knees on the bed and Nick stood in front of him, only a few inches taller as usual. Kelly looked up into Nick’s eyes, which were sparkling with familiar mischief.

“You’re a little bossy,” Nick said with a wink before lowering his mouth to Kelly’s.

 

\---

 

Nick wasn’t sure what he had expected when he lowered his mouth to Kelly’s, but it certainly wasn’t what he got. The first touch of their lips was firm and gentle, a dry kiss of closed mouths. He cradled Kelly’s cheek in his hand and tilted his chin up a little higher before slicking his tongue along Kelly’s bottom lip. Kelly made a sound that coiled deep inside Nick and opened for him. It felt like an electric charge when their tongues touched, tasting each other, breathing heat into the others mouth.

Nick felt Kelly’s arm come up around his waist and pull him more firmly against Kelly’s chest and he deepened the kiss, thrusting into Kelly’s waiting mouth. They kissed for long moments, clutching at each other’s hips and shoulders as their mouths fused together. Nick had to step back out of range before he finally broke the kiss and the two were frozen, staring at each other, panting like they’d been working out.

“Damn.” Kelly said finally. His eyelids slid to half-mast as he observed Nick. He flicked his tongue out to wet his full lower lip and spoke in a near growl.

“Do that again, Nicko.”

Nick shook his whole body in the negative, fighting the urge to take the single step back toward Kelly and resume the kiss.

Kelly reached out toward Nick, and Nick shuffled back out of the way. He was still breathing hard and desperately trying to figure out what had just happened.

“Have you ever thought about doing that before tonight?” Kelly asked, his voice still pitched lower than normal. Nick had never realized how sexy Kelly’s voice could be, and he was trying hard to ignore what it was doing to his gut.

Nick shook his head again. He knew he should be using words, but he didn’t know what he’d say if he tried to speak. He ran his finger along his lips and tried to meet Kelly’s intense gaze. Kelly’s eyes were a stormy gray, darker than usual, and his lips were red and a little swollen. Nick forced his eyes away from Kelly’s lips, but not in time to miss the smirk when Kelly realized that Nick was staring.

“And now?”

“Now?” Nick echoed.

“Now will you think about it?”

Nick nodded jerkily.

Kelly grinned suddenly, the serious face gone in an instant.

“Me too.”

 


	4. Chapter Four

Nick wasn’t sleeping. A glance at the clock told him that it was past four in the morning, making him groan quietly. Why had he signed up for a 9am math class? Who could do Calculus at nine in the fucking morning?

He was clinging precariously to the edge of a twin mattress, trying to hold his body rigidly away from the tantalizing warmth behind him. Kelly had dropped right off to sleep, the fucker. Kelly always crashed when he started to come down, which was the reason they generally only smoked in the evenings. Despite the hour, Nick was wide awake and he couldn’t stop replaying the moment after the kiss that had left him unable to sleep.

Kelly had been grinning at him, which had been doing nothing to relieve the pressure Nick was feeling in his jeans. His dick been ridiculously hard from the second his lips had touched his best friend’s, and the memory of Kelly’s tongue, hot and wet, sliding past his lips had him practically vibrating with need. Then Kelly’s face had turned serious as he told Nick he’d be thinking about it, and Nick was a goner.

Nick O’Flaherty had first accepted that he might like dudes when he was 13 years old, after his first foray into internet porn, product of one curious young Tyler Grady. Ty had convinced Nick to watch porn with him, claiming they needed to “learn some technique” and Nick had found himself drawn to the male performer. At the time, he’d only ever seen pictures of naked women, thanks to a skin mag he’d also been introduced to by Ty. His first glimpse of the long toned body, with firm abs and muscled shoulders, and he’d felt a stirring that was new to him. It had taken a long time before Nick was willing to acknowledge what that feeling was, and to admit that most of the longing he felt was also focused on Ty.  

Because of his feelings for Ty, Nick had been more careful when Kelly had come into their lives. He thought that if he prevented himself from ever looking at Kelly as anything more than a friend, a brother, he’d never have to worry about his feelings turning into something else, like had happened with Ty. He was very careful not to notice too much, or think too much, about Kelly in any particular way that wasn’t tied to friendship. He’d done the job well until tonight.

Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Kelly’s body, firm and muscular under his hands, or the tilt of Kelly’s jaw as Nick had cradled it in his palm. His thoughts drifted back to Kelly’s heavy lidded eyes, the gray blue color intensely focused on Nick, watching him in a way they never had before.

Nick cursed his fucking inability to sleep alone, and cursed his need for a touchstone even more. His friends were very accommodating about his need for physical contact, and none of the three had ever made their affection awkward. Until tonight. Nick knew that if he backed up, Kelly’s arms would be around him in a flash, and probably without Kelly even waking up. There was no reason not to let the touch of his closest friend soothe him into sleep, except that it was that same friend that caused his sleeplessness to begin with.

When Kelly’s expression had turned serious, Nick had done his best to redirect their conversation. He’d begged off further discussion, or worse, further action, and claimed a very real need for sleep. Kelly was always the most easy going of the three, and equally good at reading Nick’s moods. His friend had picked up on Nick’s tension and agreed to a timeout. Nick had never been more grateful for Kelly’s ability to shift with circumstances, to anticipate the needs of others and act on them before his own interest. They had agreed to sleep and worry about anything else in the morning.

It had still taken an unbearably long time for Nick’s hard on to disappear, and he’d been clinging to the edge of the mattress ever since. The only way that two fully grown men could fit comfortably in a twin sized bed was if they were very close together and Nick wasn’t willing to risk that tonight. Comfortability be damned.

 

\---

 

Kelly groaned as he rolled over in his sleep. The familiar warm weight of Nick’s body next to him in bed was absent and Kelly’s sleep addled brain was confused. Hadn’t Nick been sleeping with him? Wasn’t Ty gone? When Kelly finished his roll, he understood. Nick was in bed with him, but was stretched so close to the edge of the mattress that he was practically hovering over the floor. Kelly experienced a moment of fear and his heart raced in trepidation. Had he seriously miscalculated asking Nick to kiss him? He’d thought that as long as _he_ didn’t freak out, the normally easygoing Nick would take it in stride.

It had definitely surprised Kelly how much he had enjoyed the kiss, however. He’d felt a rush of heat as soon as Nick’s body had lined up with his own, and the heat had only intensified as the kiss deepened. He hadn’t been expecting the sense of rightness, the craving for Nick, to continue, for him to be surrounded and engulfed by that feeling, but he hadn’t been afraid either.

Throughout his life, Kelly had learned that adaptability was the key to success and happiness. He could adapt to nearly any situation and he’d started adapting from the moment he’d learned the truth about Nick and Ty’s bisexuality. To him, this was just a new adaptation. One that seemed to promise a lot of enjoyment.

He could admit to himself that he wanted more. He wanted to kiss Nick again and explore the attraction between them. He’d never considered himself attracted to guys before, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to see where the path took him. He wanted to try anything that felt good, and he wanted to try it with one of the men he trusted the most.

Kelly was still blinking at Nick’s back and shoulders hunched over the edge of the narrow mattress when he realized that Nick wasn’t breathing the slow and steady inhale and exhale of sleep. Instead, his friend’s breath was erratic and the line of his back was tight with tension. Kelly reached out a hand to Nick’s shoulder, but stopped himself half way. It was pretty clear by the space left between them when no space was really available that Nick didn’t want to be touching Kelly. Kelly didn’t think that Nick was upset with him, but he knew his friend, and he knew the dark and damaged places Nick’s mind could go when he was upset.

“Nick?” Kelly’s voice croaked from sleep and he cleared it and tried again.

“Nick. Babe. Will you please turn over?”

Kelly waited in silence as Nick decided. Long seconds passed while he blinked into the darkness , waiting for Nick to make a choice. Either he would acknowledge Kelly or try to hold to the thin façade that he was sleeping in the most uncomfortable position known to man.

The sigh was so quiet that Kelly couldn’t be sure it was real, and then Nick’s body was turning in place on the bed. Nick stopped when he was on his side facing Kelly in the dark, but he still clung to the tiny modicum of space between them, holding his body taunt.

Kelly tried to read Nick’s face in the dark but the room had very little natural light, and Nick’s head was tucked down toward his chest. Kelly reached out again, slow enough that Nick could react to prevent their touch if he wanted to. He didn’t move as Kelly’s hand approached his shoulder, coming to rest on it over the top of the blanket. Kelly stroked his hand downward, petting Nick’s shoulder and arm in a soothing motion. He repeated the gesture several times without a response from Nick.  

“Nicko?” He couldn’t prevent the tone of pleading that had crept into his voice.

Nick surged forward in a movement so quick that Kelly couldn’t help but startled and jerk his hand away from where it lay on Nick’s arm. Nick had lunged at him, wrapped both arms around his waist, and buried his head against Kelly’s chest. The momentary panic the move had caused Kelly was gone, replaced with a need to comfort and reassure. He wrapped his arms around Nick tightly, holding him against his chest, arms locked behind Nick’s back.

Nick spoke and his voice was muffled by Kelly’s chest, but still audible. “Please don’t let things be weird now, Kels. Everything is so fucked up with Ty and shit back home and I just couldn’t take it if you weren’t you.”

Nick’s pleading broke Kelly’s heart into a million pieces and his arms clutched tighter. He hadn’t anticipated this. Nick was so casual about most of his sexual encounters that Kelly had just assumed he’d take their kiss lightly. He shouldn’t have assumed that, Nick had proved over and over that felt more deeply about everything when it came to people that he loved.

Kelly wanted to see Nick’s face, to show him his own when he said what he said next, but he couldn’t bring himself to force Nick to release his hold. Instead he skimmed his hand up and down Nick’s spine, thinking of the tattoos he couldn’t see through Nick’s shirt, but knew were there from a thousand other observations.

“Nick. I need you to listen to me.” Kelly’s voice was serious and didn’t try to make it be anything else. He knew what he was about to say was true, but it seemed like Nick had missed the memo.

“There is nothing you could ever do. Nothing you could ever become, that would make me leave you. You are my best friend and I will stand with you as long as I’m alive. Nothing will come between us. Nothing can break us.”

Nick’s voice was so soft that Kelly almost missed the next words; only sure Nick had spoken by the flexing of his arms around Kelly’s torso as he did, and the muffled vibration against his chest. The words resolved into meaning slowly.

“I’m already broken.”

Kelly’s body surged with anger, quick and hot, and he reacted without thought. His hand slid from resting on Nick’s back up to the back of his head. He wrapped fingers in Nick’s hair and jerked his head back until he could see that Nick’s eyes meet his own.

“Fuck that. You are not broken.” He shook Nick’s head slightly, trying to cement the message. He paused and tried to think of the words he needed.  “You’re bent.”

Kelly couldn’t prevent the wry chuckle that escaped his mouth, but he continued.

“You’re bent, in more ways than one. But you’re not broken, you jackass. Not as long as you’ve got people who will put you back together.” Kelly’s fingers tightened in Nick’s hair hard enough to make his friend wince.

“Tell me you understand.” Kelly demanded.

Nick’s response was slow, as if he had to think it through, as if he couldn’t just trust in Kelly’s words. The thought stung, but he wanted the truth from Nick, no matter what it was.

“I understand.” After a long pause, Nick continued. “Damn, Doc. You get all growly when you’re serious. That’s hot as fuck.”

Kelly became aware of his own body’s reaction at the same time that he noticed Nick’s erection pressing into his thigh. He growled and shook the hand holding Nick’s hair again.

“Don’t try to change the subject, O’Flaherty. I want to know that you believe what you just said. Tell me that you know that I’ll always be there for you. That I will back your play no matter what hell I have to follow you into to do it.”

Kelly was so serious and so focused that Nick couldn’t do anything but respond in kind.

“I know, Doc. Me too. Always.”

Kelly nodded, satisfied that Nick was done being stupid, and closed the distance between them with a searing kiss.

 

\---

 

Zane woke up with a start, jolting to upright in his bed, certain he’d heard a voice calling his name. He sucked in oxygen as quickly as his lungs would take it, trying to regulate his breathing. He blinked into the darkness as he gradually recognized the familiar features of his dorm room. Just enough light was coming in around the edges of the window blinds that Zane could tell it was early, not quite true dawn yet. He remembered the previous evening in a rush of physical sensations that culminated in one thought… Ty.

He looked to his left stupidly, as if he hadn’t already realized he was alone in the bed. Then he glanced around the room more closely for evidence that Ty had just gotten up to use the bathroom and would be coming back. None of the clothes that had previously been strewn all over his floor were still in sight, and Zane knew that Ty had left. His gut clenched and he wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. As much as Zane’s best friends were cool with his sexual orientation, it had taken them some adjusting, and he wasn’t sure they were up for the morning after evidence in the form of Ty Grady. More importantly, Zane definitely wasn’t up for the endless teasing that would ensue if either of them had seen Ty leave. He didn’t bring hook ups home, ever. He had been shocked the moment the words had left his lips last night, but he didn’t regret it.

Despite having come to the logical conclusion that it was best that Ty had already left, Zane had an inordinate level of disappointment in that fact. He’d been shocked when Ty had asked to say, and he had to admit, pleased. Even though a twin bed was not meant for two people their size, they’d made it work. Zane had rarely slept so well as he had with Tyler Grady’s body wrapped around his own.

As Zane began to slowly extricate himself from his bed, he noticed his phone sitting on his nightstand. Hadn’t he dropped it on the floor last night? And turned it off to save the charge… but it was plugged in. He felt a zing in his stomach as he realized there was a bit of notebook paper sticking out from under the phone, and he lurched to grab it with more urgency and less grace than he’d be comfortable admitting to.

The paper was about the size of an index card, and had a phone number written on it. After the number, only three words.

 

**My ass hurts.**

**-T**

Zane couldn’t count the T as a word, as it appeared that Ty had judged that single additional letter that completed his name to be too much effort. Zane couldn’t help the chuckle that rose up in him and he swiped his phone off the nightstand and powered it up. Once he had saved the contact, he called up his messaging app and thumbed out a quick reply.

 

**Zane: Mine too.**

He didn’t expect a reply at all, so was startled when the one he received was almost immediate.

 

**Ty: Glad you saw the note.**

Zane snorted. The guy was such a dick.

 

**Zane: It was directly underneath my phone. Do you really think so little of me?**

The reply took a second longer this time, and Zane held his breath. When the phone buzzed, he let out a gust of air and rolled his eyes at himself. One night and he was clutching at his phone like he’d just lost his virginity.

 

**Ty: Not sure yet. You didn’t seem too observant last night.**

Zane winced at the memory of Ty coming up behind him and then slamming him up against the bricks.

 

**Zane: It is possible that my technique could stand a bit of improvement.**

**Ty: A bit? Now I see that you’re unobservant AND delusional. Good to know.**

Zane chuckled. Playful Ty was enjoyable. Much better than glowering Ty. Though that was pretty hot, Zane recalled as he thought of the way Ty had looked at him across the dining hall the previous morning. Ty had looked downright menacing in his all black clothes and “fuck off” expression.

 

**Zane: Kiss my ass.**

**Ty: Not now, dear. I’m busy. ;)**

Zane tossed the phone onto his bed with a smile, heading for the bathroom. It was earlier than he usually got up even being a naturally early riser, but he was awake now.

 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I was giving my chapters names, this one would be called "The One Where Everyone Thinks About Their Feelings A Little Too Much." 
> 
> This chapter just didn't want to come together, probably because everybody was too busy analyzing their emotions.

Chapter Five

 

Ty slipped through the door to the suite of rooms he shared with Nick and Kelly. He paused for a moment outside Kelly’s closed door to listen before cracking the door open a bit to peek into the room. Nick and Kelly were both asleep on Kelly’s bed, Kelly’s arms wrapped around Nick from behind. Nick had both arms up, holding onto Kelly’s forearm where it rested around his chest. Ty smiled a bit and quietly closed the door before heading to his room.

It was too early to wake them but too late for Ty to try to get back to sleep. He’d slept surprisingly well in Zane’s bed, a thought he didn’t want to dwell on. Ty glanced at the desk that took up the opposite wall to his bed and groaned. He’d blown off his homework the night before, choosing to go to the gym, then follow Zane home, and if he didn’t do it now he’d fall behind.

College was not exactly the ideal environment for Ty. The classes and work were fine, more interesting at least if not exactly challenging, in a way that was pleasant compared to the repetition that high school had been. But the same problems plagued him here that had for his whole life. Ty didn’t like to sit still, didn’t like to stay in one place, doing only one thing. He needed to be active, he itched with it. He got into trouble when he was in one place for too long and started dreaming up mischief or dwelling on the past. His recent infatuation with Zane Garrett was a prime example of his potential for mischief.

Ty had noticed Zane the first week he had arrived on campus with Nick and Kelly in tow. He and his boys had gone to exactly one freshman mixer and had bailed fairly quickly. Ty thought it probably had something to do with how much fun he and Nick had been having with the name tags. After a quick argument and an even quicker game of rock, paper, scissors, Ty had won the right to Colonel Mustard. Nick had settled for Mr. Green, swayed by Ty’s logic that Mr. Green was clearly an Irish name. Kelly had been less than amused when they’d attempted to switch his nametag out with one that said Prof. Plum, and forcibly escorted them through a back door soon after. Ty had caught sight of Zane just before their impromptu exit, and he’d been curious about the guy ever since.

The first thing that Ty had noticed about Zane was his height, and then his extreme thinness. He’d looked like a dark scarecrow, staked out in a field and starved for months. Not that scarecrows needed to eat, but the comparison was sound. At 6’3”, Ty didn’t often meet people taller than him, and he tended to notice when he did. He might have even saw Zane as a potential threat if it wasn’t so obvious that the guy had recently been strung out on something. Ty had figured he must have been clean by then, or he wouldn’t have been showing up on a college campus at a mixer, but the guy had looked like a hard wind might take him out. He’d looked broken. Ty knew the feeling.

It was weeks before Ty saw him again, and by that time Zane had already started to fill out. He looked like he was eating regularly for the first time in a long time, and Ty wasn’t surprised when he started seeing him at the campus rec center. Ty couldn’t help but be curious about the guy’s story, because there was obviously something there, but he maintained his distance. In fact, he hadn’t even known Zane’s name until the previous morning when the guy had come to talk to Kelly.

That distance was blown all to hell now, and Ty wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He’d sensed that getting too close to Zane Garrett would be trouble, but he didn’t know how or why. He could tell that the guy had something dark inside him, but then, so did Ty. They clearly had chemistry, and it was rare indeed that Ty considered hooking up with someone for a second time. He’d left his phone number for fuck’s sake. He didn’t want to consider exactly what else he’d done that was a first in a long time. Ty shook his head at himself and flopped down into his desk chair. He needed to stop thinking about Garrett and focus on something else. Even if that something else was homework.

 

\---

 

Kelly woke as Nick was unwrapping his arms from around Nick’s torso and chest and Kelly made a sound of protest that he wasn’t sure he’d be comfortable with if he was fully awake.

“Dude, I’m just going to piss, calm down,” Nick whispered.

Kelly made a muffled noise of consent and released his hold. He squinted his eyes open a bare millimeter and watched as Nick finished untangling himself and crawled from the bed. While Nick was gone, Kelly took a moment to consider how he was feeling in the light of day. He couldn’t dredge up any concern or horror over what had occurred the night before. All he felt was an odd sort of contentment and a surprising amount of eagerness. What had happened between him and Nick last night was hot, and he wanted to do it again. He wasn’t conflicted or confused.

Nick padded back into the bedroom on bare feet, both of his big hands covering his face as he rubbed it, curtailing Kelly’s assessment of his mood. Nick dropped his hands from his face to pin Kelly with a look.

“Seriously, Doc. You’re like one of those whatdoyoucall’ems? A limpet. You’re a limpet, dude. I was struggling to break free for like 20 minutes before you woke up.”

Nick stood at the foot of the mattress looking down at Kelly, who was still sprawled out in bed. He was standing with his hands on his hips and a disgruntled expression on his face, but his green eyes glinted with humor.

“Ty’s back. He’s in his room doing homework.” Nick said homework word like he actually meant something filthy and Kelly couldn’t help but grin up at him.

“Does that mean I’m getting up?” Kelly asked.

“Did you know that they did a study last year in the UK, and proved that limpet teeth are actually the strongest biological material scientists have ever found?”

Kelly closed his eyes. Nick’s answer might be nonsensical, but it really amount to a yes.

Nick continued, seemingly unfazed by Kelly’s lack of response.

“For a long time, it was spider silk, you know? But they found that limpet teeth are actually stronger.”

“Why the fuck would anyone care how strong their teeth are?” Kelly asked, unable to resist the temptation. Nick was the king of random facts, and Kelly was certain he would have an actual answer to the question.

Ty spoke up from the doorway. “So they can make stronger shit using the same technique.”

Ty was always the master of drilling something down to its base conclusion. Where it would have taken Nick at least a full minute and several sentences to explain exactly why scientists cared about limpet teeth, Ty could sum it up into a handful of words. Useful skill for someone that spoke as reluctantly as Ty did around most people. It was sometimes possible to forget just how blindingly smart Ty was, and Kelly never doubted that it was fully Ty’s intention that people did forget. Or never know in the first place.

“Get off your ass, Abbott. We’re going for a run.”

Kelly shook his head and burrowed deeper into his blankets. “Nuh uh. Go for a run yourself, Grady.”

It was a foregone conclusion that Kelly would be getting out of bed to run, but sometimes the bickering was half the fun.

 

\---

 

Running at the ass crack of dawn was not Nick’s favorite way to greet the day, but when you were best friends with Tyler Grady, you learned quickly how little your feelings on such things really mattered. Ty had promised that they would only go for a “quick” five mile run around the outskirts of campus and through the deserted streets of town, before heading back to their dorm to start the day. Nick and Kelly never had to worry about keeping fit, simply hanging out with Ty insured a regular if not excessive amount of exercise. Burning off excess energy several times a day was the only way that Ty managed to stay still long enough to attend classes.

For Nick, the run was an opportunity to get his head on straight (no pun intended). He was more than a little freaked out about the events of the previous night, and wasn’t up to examining his feelings on them just yet. The freezing cold of the early morning in January was just the thing to keep his mind off warmer pursuits. The three didn’t converse while running, but this wasn’t unusual. They fell easily into the kind of silence that comes with focus on a task, and the familiar act of working out together putting them all at ease.

It was possible, Nick decided, that he was watching Kelly a little more closely than normal. He caught himself noticing the way that Kelly’s underarmor shirt hugged the firm muscles of his chest when Kelly was stretching out his arms. Noticed the shape of Kelly’s pert ass under his sweats as he ran several paces in front of him. He even noticed the bare skin on the back of Kelly’s neck, just above the collar of his shirt, that Nick had the urge to bite. Nick cursed under his breath and added a burst of speed that took him ahead of Kelly, forcing him to pay attention to the path instead of his friend. His resolve lasted right up until Kelly appeared at his elbow, keeping pace with Nick’s stride. The fucker might have shorter legs than both Ty and Nick, but he was fast. Nick would have to work harder to outdistance him, and the lack of sleep was weighing him down like lead.

Kelly didn’t even have the good manners to sound winded when he spoke, eyeing Nick in his periphery while keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead.

“You buggin’?” Kelly asked.

Nick shook his head sharply and glanced over his shoulder to see where Ty was. Usually Ty ran in the lead, choosing their route and setting the pace. Today, Nick’s demons had caused him to increase his speed, and something was also slowing Ty down. The combination meant that Nick was well ahead and it was unlikely that Ty would hear them speak.

Nick weighed his words before he spoke. “Just trying to… put everything in perspective.”

Kelly snorted and shook his head. “I guess I’ve finally found something that makes even Nicholas O’Flaherty look before he leaps, huh?”

“I always weigh the consequences of my actions. I just don’t usually care about what I might be risking.” Nick’s words were sharper than he meant them to be, and he saw Kelly’s wince out of the corner of his eye.

Kelly kept his pace matched to Nick’s longer strides and they ran in silence for several moments. The urge to apologize for the sharp words stung in the back of Nick’s throat, but he had to be honest. He was scared shitless at the idea of losing Kelly, and he wasn’t normally the type to worry about risk, so the feeling was disconcerting.

“Okay.” Kelly said. “Okay. I can wait for you to analyze the risk. But don’t try to fool yourself into thinking you can bury this and it will go away.”

With that parting comment, Kelly dropped back, letting Nick have his spot out in front. With a glance over his shoulder, Nick could see that Kelly was slowing enough to match pace with Ty. He couldn’t hear what the two of them were saying, but Ty nodded at whatever Kelly said.

He repeated Kelly’s words in his mind, mulling them over. Kelly would back off and give Nick the space to think about things, but he wouldn’t let Nick pretend it didn’t happen. While he might prefer to take the easy route and pretend it was nothing more than two friends being a little stupid while high, Kelly was telling Nick that he wasn’t intending to let him do that. Nick sighed and wondered how life could get so complicated so quickly. He couldn’t even blame Ty for it this time.

 

\---

 

Zane Garrett wondered how life could get so complicated so quickly. He blamed Ty for it, even though the guy had cleared out early enough to miss Eli and Digger’s morning grilling.

The three of them had met up to head to breakfast together as usual and the conversation had started off normally enough. The guys had asked about Zane’s work out and told him about their evening run. They hadn’t even ribbed Zane for crashing out early, to his relief. Looking back at it now, he wondered how he could have been fooled by his friend’s quiet acceptance of his getting an early night.

The trouble started once they were seated with their plates piled high with food in front of them. Zane realized he’d been set up, but it was too late to run. He either had to sit through Eli and Digger prodding him for information or abandon his breakfast. He seriously contemplated skipping the meal, but he didn’t have the willpower to walk away from a full plate of food when he was hungry. He should have avoided his friends all together this morning. Stupid Zane. Clearly Grady had messed with his mind.

“So, papi, tell us about your new friend.” Eli offered his opening gambit with a smirking grin, drawling in a way that emphasized his slight accent.

Zane had actually been confused for a moment, wondering about what friend Eli had meant. Zane had made friends at school, sure, but none that were worth mocking him for. It actually took him looking up from his plate and noticing Eli’s smirking face to realize that both of his friends were grinning evilly at him.

Digger took the opportunity that Zane’s silence offered to speak in his slow Louisianan accent. “Yeah, Garrett. Share with the class. Who was the mysterious visitor that prompted death threats to your closest buddies?”

Zane cleared his throat and tried to will his face to blandness. “What visitor? I told you guys, I crashed out early last night because I was tired from working out.”

“Mmhmm,” Eli murmured. “Sure thing, and Digger and I would like to know more about that swamp land you’re selling.”

“Hey, Sanchez, don’t talk about the bayou like that!” Digger was looking at Eli with a hurt expression on his face. For a moment Eli looked thoroughly confused, before understanding dawned.

“No, D!” Eli waved his hands around in agitation, gesturing at Zane with his fork. “It’s an expression, like, someone trying to sell you a line of crap. Zane thinking we believe he just quietly went to beddy bye, like we believe he’s got some prime land available.”

“Yeah,” Digger pointed back at Eli. “But that expression is implying that swamps ain’t good land.”  

Eli boggled at Digger for a moment before turning back to Zane.

“You believe this guy?” he asked Zane, sounding astonished.

“Don’t bad mouth the bayou, Eli. It’s very inconsiderate. You don’t like it when people talk bad about Texas.” Zane managed this reply with a straight face and was rewarded by Eli’s expression of outrage, as the younger man threw his hands up in the air and cursed creatively in Spanish at both of them. Unfortunately for Zane, Digger and Eli managed to regain their focus fairly quickly.

“I notice you didn’t answer the question, Hoss.” Digger’s voice was a quiet rumble, matching his personality to the t. Despite being nearly half a foot shorter than Zane, Digger made up for it in muscle mass, making Zane feel like a delicate twig in his presence. One never knew for sure if Digger was observing situations quietly or planning where best to rig the next explosives, but Zane usually bet on the explosives. Right now he was pinning Zane with a look in his dark brown eyes that made Zane twitch. It was Digger’s “not fucking around” look.

Zane cursed under his breath. “Fine. I hooked up last night and didn’t want to be interrupted. Are you satisfied?”

Eli snorted. “We figured that much out on our own, big guy. Since when do you bring hook ups back to your room? And who was said hook up?”

Zane shifted in his seat. It was true that he hadn’t brought anyone back to his room before. It wasn’t really intentional, it was just easier to go to theirs, or, fuck, an alley or bathroom stall usually did just fine.

“It wasn’t anything special,” Zane hoped his face was still blank as he spoke. His gut had an odd twinge as he said this, as if it objected to the word choice in reference to Ty.

By the looks his closest friends were giving him, Zane wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing them of his detachment to the situation either. He hurried to follow it up more decisively.

“Jeez, you guys act like I’m a monk. It was just a hook up, seriously.”

Zane stood as both guys started to protest his assertion. He was done eating and was now going to make his escape, whether his friends liked it or not. He wasn’t ready to explain to them what had happened with Ty Grady, mostly because he hadn’t really figured it out himself yet.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

 

The week passed with surprising speed, leaving Kelly with the feeling that he was losing minutes or hours of time without noticing. He wasn’t sure how it was already Friday afternoon, and he couldn’t pinpoint exactly how the week had gotten away from him, but he wasn’t going to complain. He wasn’t behind on school work, he had attended all his classes. Kelly tried to shrug off the nagging sensation that he’d been sleeping and woken up surprised to find that the seasons had changed.

It was unfortunate that the seasons hadn’t in fact changed, and Kelly was bemoaning this fact as snow fell outside his window. Not that there was anything wrong with snow. Kelly liked snow just as much as the next guy that had grown up mostly in Colorado and West Virginia. He was just ready for the snow to be done. He was tired of the cold, tired of the wet, tired of being cooped up or freezing to death depending on the whims of one Tyler Grady.

The very same Ty was currently in the next room, shoving clothes and ski equipment into a duffle and cursing so creatively that Kelly was impressed despite himself. He decided that maybe watching the packing might be just as amusing as hearing it, so he wandered towards Ty’s open door. His curiosity was rewarded by the sight of Ty lying half way under his bed, obviously straining to reach something he’d stored underneath. Ty’s head, one arm and the better part of his torso were not visible, but he was definitely still audible. Kelly chuckled as a thump that could only have been Ty’s skull against the bedframe was followed by more unrepeatable words.

“You kiss your Mama with that mouth?” Kelly asked. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door jam. He’d been right; the show was so much more fun than the soundtrack.

Ty’s legs flailed, kicking the air as he tried to scoot himself further under the bed. The difficulty, Kelly could now see, was that there wasn’t actually enough space for Ty to fit his large upper body under the bed. His friend now appeared to be stuck part way, like a cat that had tried to squeeze into a cat flap just a bit too small.

With another loud thump, this one from the bedframe lifting slightly off the floor and then coming back down, Ty seemed to be making a last bid for freedom. He appeared out from under the bed, his tousled dark hair standing on end with little bits of dust decoratively coating it, as well as several smudges across his face. His grin was triumphant as he waved a ski boot at Kelly. The grin fell as he looked Kelly up and down.

“You’re not packing?”

Kelly rolled his eyes at the hang dog expression on his friend’s face.

“No, Ty. I told you, I have a paper due early next week. I can’t spend the weekend on the mountain.”

This was half true. Kelly did in fact have a paper due on Tuesday. He’d finished it the previous evening, however. The truth was that Kelly wasn’t in the mood for skiing. He wasn’t in the mood for socializing with the group that was headed up to Alton Peak this weekend, the closest ski resort to the college. He was actually looking forward to a weekend alone. He realized that Ty was speaking to him and focused his attention back in time to digest what Ty had been saying.

“Wait. Nick isn’t going with you?”

Kelly had automatically assumed that Nick was part of Ty’s weekend plans. He felt a tingle of… something, run through him at the realization that they’d both be at the dorm that weekend, without Ty. The last time Kelly and Nick had hung out alone was the evening of the kiss. Kelly shook it off, choosing to focus instead on why Nick had turned down a weekend of physical activity.

Ty was explaining that very answer to him now, so he’d probably do well to tune in.

“The asshole said he had a big study group for a test next week. I think it’s that same study group with the chick he hooked up with.” Ty’s eyes were narrowed in suspicion as he sat on the floor gripping his ski boot prize. “If that bastard is bailing on me for a chick we are going to have words.” Ty’s hands flexed menacingly, making the boot creak alarmingly.

Kelly shrugged, trying to look bland. His weekend prospects had started looking a little more exciting, but he didn’t want to increase Ty’s suspicion.

“He didn’t say anything about a girl to me. I know his stats class is kicking his ass, though.” Both true statements. Kelly had no idea why Nick was planning on staying at the dorm this weekend. He was surprised, as Nick had taken every opportunity to avoid Kelly as the week progressed.

Ty’s attention was diverted as he looked at the clock.

“Fuck, I gotta run. The van is leaving in like 20 minutes and it’s all the way across campus.” Ty hopped agilely to his feet and continued stuffing the bag with equipment and warm clothes. Kelly hung out in the doorway, chatting as Ty finished, zipped up the large duffle and slung it over his chest.

Kelly patted Ty absently on the shoulder, stepping back out of the doorway so that Ty could pass.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Use protection. Make good choices.”

Ty laughed at Kelly’s assortment of advice. “Anything you wouldn’t do, Kels? That doesn’t leave me a whole lot of options, you know.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow at Ty. Clearly Ty didn’t know everything that Kelly was willing to do.

“Don’t do anything Nick wouldn’t do?” Kelly offered.

Ty nodded. “That’s more like it. Leaving my options open.”

His familiar smirk made Kelly smile back at him. Ty moved in for a quick hug, which Kelly accepted with only a bit of surprise. Ty had been less touchy feely recently, and Kelly couldn’t remember the last time he’d initiated contact. Kelly hugged him back hard and patted his back firmly before Ty headed for the door.

 

\---

 

Nick was hiding in the library on a Friday afternoon. He was being a coward and hiding from his roommates, no, hiding from his best friends, waiting for them to head out for a weekend of skiing before he went back to the dorm.

He wasn’t actually sure what had him so freaked out, but he was acting on instincts that felt a lot like self-preservation. Potentially also they felt a little bit like cowardice, but Nick wasn’t going to consider that too closely. Self-preservation and not avoiding the man he had kissed and then ignored all week. Really, it was just coincidence that he had been busy with school work. He’d still seen Kelly for meals, and usually at night, if Nick hadn’t gone to bed early to avoid… well, anyway. He’d just needed a little space to clear his head. Nick figured the weekend would give him uninterrupted time to figure out exactly what to do about the Kelly situation, and he could face it head on at the start of the week, when Ty and Kelly returned.

Glancing at the clock, Nick was relieved to see that it was after five. He knew the ski van left at 4:45 every Friday afternoon, so he’d been killing time since his last class had ended at three. He hadn’t actually done any work while at the library, but that wasn’t the point. He gathered up the notebooks and pens he’d strewn all over the table, stuffing them haphazardly into his backpack. He was looking forward to a weekend solo, despite the fact that he’d be sleeping alone with both his roommates gone. He’d survive a couple of nights of tossing and turning, and have his head on straight by the time the guys returned on Sunday.

The walk across campus was quick, and soon Nick was letting himself into the suite of rooms he shared. He knew immediately that something was wrong with his clever plan, as he was greeted by the sound of the television. The knot in his stomach that had been present all week gave an extra twinge as Nick closed the door and headed to the space they used as a living room. Kelly was spread out on the couch, bare feet kicked up and crossed at the ankles, arms folded behind his head. He was watching a show on TV and glanced up at Nick when he appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Nicko. What’s good?”

Nick had to take a moment to calm himself. He wanted to shout at Kelly, which was not a feeling he frequently encountered. Why the fuck was he here? Hadn’t Ty said Kelly was going with him to the mountain?

He realized that he was standing silently in the doorway, glaring at Kelly, and tried to come up with a friendly response.

“Hey, man. No skiing for you?” His voice sounded strange, but Kelly appeared not to notice, his gaze now focused back on the TV. Two women were on screen, walking together down a busy city street. He couldn’t place the movie or show immediately, so he continued to watch, realizing belatedly that he had asked Kelly a question.

Nick forced himself to focus back on Kelly, who was looking at him expectantly, and Nick realized that he’d probably responded with a question of his own.

“Sorry, what?”

Kelly repeated himself. “I wasn’t feeling the ski vibe this weekend. What about you? Ty said you had some kind of test you’re worried about?”

Nick shook his head before remembering that he had lied to Ty, trying to avoid additional close quarters with Kelly. “No. Um, I mean. Yeah. I do. Big test.”

Kelly’s face became suspicious as he looked at Nick more closely. Nick tried to stop shifting his weight and hold still, knowing that Kelly could read his nerves without the more obvious cues.

“Nicko.”

Kelly’s voice was softer now, more coaxing. It made Nick want to run out of the room.

“Yeah?” Nick’s voice felt like gravel when he spoke. He tried to swallow but his mouth was suddenly completely dry.

Kelly’s voice stayed calm, making Nick have to fight against the urge to relax and spill his guts.

“Will you come sit down?”

Kelly said this like it was the most normal thing in the world. Okay, maybe his friend asking him to come sit in the living room wasn’t abnormal under most circumstances. Nick stayed firmly planted in the doorway, one hand clutching the frame tightly. He watched Kelly sit up and flick off the TV before tossing the remote down onto the couch.

Nick forced his legs to start moving, headed for the armchair positioned at an angle to the TV and couch. His body felt stiff and unfamiliar, his limbs too heavy. He realized he was rubbing one finger over his lip unconsciously and he fisted his hand and placed it in his lap as he sat.

“Okay. Look.” Kelly looked worried now, and he was raking his hand through his short spiky hair, musing the slightly styled look he normally wore. His changeable eyes were a shade of blue, and they radiated concern as he looked at Nick.

Kelly started again. “Clearly I fucked up. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect something like a kiss to freak you out so much and –“

Nick broke in before Kelly could continue.

“I’m not freaking out.”

Kelly snorted a laugh, clearly shocked into the sound, but Nick narrowed his eyes in a glare anyway.

“I’m sorry, Nicko, but you’re usually a better liar than that.”

Nick started to protest but Kelly waved a hand that cut him off.

“You’re totally freaked out, and that’s okay. I’m just trying to understand _why_ you’re so freaked. I mean, I have to say, I don’t mean this in a bad way, Nicko, but you’re not usually the type of guy to go all crazy over a little fooling around.”

Nick wanted to argue the point, tell Kelly that he wasn’t freaked out, tried to find the words. While he struggled to find the words, he looked at Kelly, who was looking back at him with confusion and sympathy on his face.

“This!” Nick blurted. “This is why I’m freaked out! Everything is all weird now and it’s awkward to sit here talking with you about this shit.”

Nick decided that looking at Kelly wasn’t helping. Instead he focused on the stitching on the arm of the chair.

“It’s only weird now because you’re making it weird. Like I said, I wasn’t trying to freak you out. I was curious and I thought who better to help me solve my curiosity?”

“That’s what I don’t get – why the sudden curiosity? Why now? Why me?”

He chanced a glance at Kelly and found him looking directly back at him.

“Honestly?”

Nick nodded even though he wasn’t actually sure he wanted the answers. He didn’t want to be having this discussion at all. It felt worse than telling his family he was bisexual. At least then he was the one with the facts, not the one caught completely off guard.

“Truthfully, I don’t really know. I was just… curious. I had never considered being attracted to men. I mean, I know I like women. That just made sense. I guess realizing that you and Ty had both been attracted to men, I started wondering what it was like. I started wondering what it would feel like. If it was different.”

Nick waited. Kelly seemed to be trying to understand his thoughts as he spoke, working them out as he went along. It was the way Kelly usually did things, leap first, ask questions later. Right now, the questions were really fucking important to Nick, even if he didn’t know why.

“Why now?” Kelly repeated Nick’s second question. “I just went for it. I don’t know. Why do anything at a certain time? And why you? I think that one is obvious.”

Nick shook his head rapidly. “No, not obvious. Really fucking confusing, actually.”

Kelly laughed outright this time. “Who else would I go to with questions like this?”

Kelly clearly thought this was enough of an explanation because he was waiting for Nick to response. After several beats of silence, Kelly sighed then continued to speak.

“Why wouldn’t it be you, Irish? I trust you. I know you’ll tell me the truth. Who else would I go to with this? Should I find some random dude on campus and tell him I’d like to do a little experimenting?”

“No.” Nick ground out the single word. He knew it wasn’t enough but it was all he could manage. His whole body had tightened with anger when Kelly mentioned finding another guy. The thought of some random asshole using his best friend for a good time caused rage to burn hot inside him.

“No, you shouldn’t find some random guy. I… I just…” Nick faltered.

“Please tell me what is happening inside your head, Nick. You say I shouldn’t find another guy, but you’ve been treating me like a plague carrier all week. Maybe I didn’t think this out well enough, but it seemed pretty simple to me. I’m curious, you know what’s what. You show me a few things and I decide if I like it. To be honest, I’ve liked it a lot so far. But if you’re not into it, that’s cool too. It doesn’t change anything between us.”

“It changes everything!” Nick’s outburst startled them both, as he surged out of his chair at his own words. He was looming over Kelly now, breathing heavily. He shook his head, and forced himself back into his chair with difficulty. Nick wasn’t used to his emotions swinging so wildly. One minute he’s practically in a rage because of some imaginary guy hooking up with Kelly, the next he’s yelling at him.

“Oh.”

Kelly spoke the one syllable softly. He didn’t say anything else, just looking at Nick as if he had just understood something he’d been missing before. Nick didn’t want that to be true.

“So you’re afraid that, what? Fooling around will screw up our friendship?” Kelly’s voice was soothing again, trying to coax Nick back from the edge.

All Nick could do was nod in answer. He had a lump in his throat that he couldn’t swallow past.

“So you didn’t believe me when I told you that nothing could come between us? When you agreed with that?” Kelly’s voice was too calm now and Nick knew he should be concerned. The Doc didn’t get angry very often, but when he did it was quiet. No screaming and throwing things for Kelly.

Nick hesitated before answering this time.

“Not that I didn’t believe you, no. Just that you might be wrong.” Nick glanced and Kelly and hurried on when he saw the anger still on Kelly’s face. “You can’t know that for sure! You can’t know what will happen in the future, or what might change.”

“I know you.”

Kelly’s words were simple. Simple enough to break through the wall of fear that Nick had built around himself. It was true, Kelly did know him. Knew him better than anyone, apart from Ty. It was possible that Kelly knew him better even than Ty. It was as if Kelly could tell that his words had hit their target and he continued on.

“I know you, Nick. That’s why this makes sense. I know I can trust you, I know I can be honest with you. I’m not saying that to try to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I think what happened the other night was hot as fuck, and I know you did too, but that doesn’t have to mean anything else. I’m not going to let this fuck up our friendship, no matter what way it goes. Can you trust _me_?”

The emphasis that Kelly put on the final word hit Nick hard. He couldn’t answer any other way.

“Of course I trust you.”

Kelly nodded as if this confirmed everything he was saying. “Okay. You trust me, I trust you. We both don’t want it to screw up our friendship, so we won’t let it.”

Nick was nodding along with Kelly, trying to hold onto that thread. This was Kelly. If Kelly said something was true, it was. Just like with Ty, Nick would follow Kelly anywhere. Well, maybe not exactly like with Ty. To Nick, it seemed like Kelly had heard his last thought when he spoke again.

“Forget everything else. Forget friendship and fear and whatever else is bouncing around that brain of yours. Do you want to do it again?”

Nick felt like Kelly had developed a whole new way of speaking when he said things like that to Nick. Like the other night when Kelly had asked if he’d be thinking about their kiss. Nick’s whole body sat up and paid attention when Kelly spoke in that low, serious voice.

“Yes.”

Another nod from Kelly. Another long pause.

“Then will you show me what I’ve been missing out on?”

Nick couldn’t help but agree. He did want Kelly, damn it. He did want to show Kelly how good it could be, make him feel everything that was possible between the two of them. He wanted to trust that Kelly was right when he said their friendship could survive it.

“Yes.”

Kelly’s smile was slow, growing over his face as he looked seriously at Nick. The grin turned cocky, only for a moment, but it warned Nick that Kelly was done with the heart to heart.

“I knew you wanted my ass. You can’t resist me.”

Nick chuckled, letting the weight fall away from his shoulders.

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, do you?” he asked Kelly.

Kelly’s eyes sparkled brightly when he replied. “You’ll show me.”

 

\---

 

Ty was going to kill his best friends when he got back to school. It didn’t particularly matter to him that none of his current situation was in any way their fault. Someone was going to pay and right now, Ty didn’t care who that person was.

Ty had been the last to arrive to catch the van that drove up to the mountain ski resort, and this had somehow won him the privilege of sitting in the front next to the driver. Ty wasn’t complaining, it was a pretty sweet deal. The driver was another student, but a few years older than Ty. She hadn’t been interested in conversation and Ty had spent the trip with his earbuds in, zoning out. He didn’t do well on long car trips and it was best if he kept to himself to prevent accidentally pissing people off just because they were unfortunate enough to be stuck in a vehicle with him. Usually he had Nick and Kelly to distract him, but both friends had made excuses to stay home this weekend.

Skiing and snowboarding were winter sports that Ty could get behind. He wasn’t generally a big fan of group outings, but on the ski trips it was mostly every person for themselves. The college had a standing reservation for a block of rooms, and students received a discount on lift tickets, but that was it. It wasn’t a bonding experience or a group trek. It was a ride up the mountain and then two full days of throwing himself back down it as many times as he could before the van left on Sunday afternoon.

Trouble had arrived, in this case, in the form of Zane Garrett. Well, Zane Garrett and his two very irritating looking pals. Ty hadn’t realized Zane was even in the van until they were at the lodge, stretching out car tired muscles and grabbing their gear. One minute Ty was slinging his duffle over his shoulder, wondering if he knew anyone here well enough to share a room for a couple nights, and the next he was looking up into the smirking face of Zane Garrett.

Ty’s musings quickly turned to irritation as he realized he’d have a major distraction this weekend. Fuck. Ty had texted with Zane a few times over the past week, and he had to admit that the guy was interesting. He usually responded to a text fairly quickly, and Ty found his dry wit funnier than he was willing to let on. He’d also spent more than a few minutes in the shower on various occasions, thinking of the night he’d spent with Zane, stroking himself off to the memory of the larger man.

He’d known when he left his number for Zane that he was probably making a mistake, but it was one he couldn’t stop himself from making. He hadn’t decided if he’d sleep with Zane again, but he’d wanted the possibility enough to ensure that he left his options open. He did know, however, that what he had wanted this weekend was not to be distracted by attractive guys that grinned at him in too knowing ways.

“Garrett.” Zane’s name on Ty’s lips was enough to make his body start to pay attention and he cursed his attraction. Seriously, it was the dude’s last name, nothing to get excited over.

“Grady.” Zane’s response sent another thrill through Ty’s body and he quickly turned and marched off in the other direction. He had noticed that Zane wasn’t alone; he had two other guys with him that Ty didn’t know, but had seen with him around campus. They had been standing on either side of Zane when they’d spoken. He knew he was probably a dick for not waiting to be introduced, but he really didn’t need to deal with a hard on just from talking to Zane.

Ty headed with the group to the front desk, now sweating the room assignment process a little more. Generally two or three people bunked together in the rooms the college pre-booked, and the resort left it up to the students to determine who would share. In the past, Ty had always shared with Nick and Kelly and it hadn’t occurred to him that he probably wouldn’t be able to get a room to himself before he’d gotten in the van. Taking a quick look at the group surrounding and behind him, Ty’s hopes sunk even lower. Everyone else seemed to be mostly in duos and trios, ready to check in together, and no one looked particularly familiar or approachable to Ty. Well, almost no one. Ty hung back a little, waiting off to the side to see if any options appeared, but as each group approached the counter, his hope dwindled. Before he had managed to come up with a brilliant plan, Zane and his friends were the next in line.

Ty heard the larger of the two guys with Zane speak to the hotel employee and her answer made Ty groan out loud.

“We’ve only got two rooms left, both with a single King bed.”

Ty watched as Zane’s gaze swung to him, and Ty swore he could see amusement dancing in their depths.

The guy that had been speaking to the employee turned to Zane and gave him a questioning look.

“Digger, why don’t you and Eli share one and I’ll bunk with Grady in the other. It looks like he’s flying solo this weekend.” Zane’s voice was a calm drawl, his face perfectly serene.

The men Zane had referred to as Digger and Eli both swiveled their heads to examine Ty, who it seemed they had just noticed.

“Friend of yours, Z?” the shorter one that Ty thought was probably Eli said.

“We’ve met,” Zane said.

Ty wasn’t one to complain about the inevitable, and therefore agreed with a short nod in Zane’s direction. He knew it was good of the guy to offer to bunk with him, but he couldn’t help the prickle of irritation as well. Zane could have agreed to share with his buddies and left the other room to Ty alone.

The employee was efficient, swiping key cards to activate and taking each of their student ID cards to scan. Once the check in was complete, Ty followed Zane and his friends toward the elevator.

“Tyler Grady, these are my friends I mentioned. The short one is Eli Sanchez,” Zane paused as his friend made a noise of complaint.

Eli was shorter than the others, but more because they were tall than because he was short. To Ty’s eye, he thought the guy was around 5’10”, close to Kelly’s height, but Zane made everyone seem short. His skin was a brown that along with the name Sanchez made Ty fairly sure he had Latino origins, and his dark hair and eyes helped confirm it. When Eli spoke, it was with the faintest hint of an accent that sounded like someone that had grown up speaking a non-English language at home.

“Dude, it’s not my fault you’re a giant. You don’t have to try to put other people down because they are normal sized.”

Ty smiled and almost said something to agree with Eli, but the other friend spoke first. Ty had noticed that he had a distinct accent as well, and placed it as Louisiana, remembering what Zane had said about his friends when they’d first met.

“Calm down, E. Zane just doesn’t want to call you ‘the Mexican’ and me ‘the black guy’ because then he’ll look racist.”

Ty did laugh out loud at this, and grinned at Digger. Digger was, in fact, black, with smooth dark skin and a deep rumbly voice. He was shorter than Ty but built similarly. He seemed, on first impression, like he was amused at everything around him. Ty watched his eyes dance with humor when he took the hand to shake that Ty offered, and Ty wondered what kept the guy so entertained. Before he could decide, he turned his attention to Eli and shook his hand as well.

“Don’t worry, I’m definitely predisposed to thinking that Zane is the weirdo of the group.”

Digger and Eli laughed along with Ty, Eli poking out an elbow into Zane’s side as he stood unsmiling among them. The elevator arrived with a ding and Zane was the first to step forward.

After the doors closed around them and they had started to rise, Zane spoke into the silence.

“It seems I’m always offering you a place to sleep, Grady, but you don’t seem to appreciate it very much.”

Ty’s eyes widened when Zane spoke, before he could school his reaction. Was the guy actually joking about them hooking up? Ty had seen the message the other night when Zane had texted his friends, and assumed that Zane kept his friends in the dark about his extra curriculars. Either Zane was a lot more open with his friends than Ty had anticipated or Zane was outing their activities just to get a rise out of Ty. Zane was behind him in the elevator, and off to one side, and Ty had to resist the urge to crane his head around to look at him.

“Sorry, Garrett. I guess I’m just not the grateful sort.”

As the elevator doors opened and Ty followed Eli and Digger down the hall to their rooms, he cursed under his breath. If it wasn’t bad enough that he had to share a room with Zane, he had to do it with the man’s two closest friends right next door. Like that wasn’t a recipe for disaster.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting these two chapters fairly close to back to back, so make sure you read six before seven or things might be a little confusing. :)

 

Chapter Seven

 

By mutual decision, Nick and Kelly had changed gears after their discussion and focused on having a regular Friday night. They went to the dining hall for dinner, as neither of them was particularly in the mood to head off campus. They ate and talked like normal, catching up on each other’s’ lives, since thanks to Nick, they hadn’t really seen each other all week. They joked and laughed and avoided anything that might cross the line of too serious or too sexual.

After eating, they walked back to the dorm debating what type of movie to watch that evening. Neither of them were particularly interested in any events going on around campus, and due to Nick’s disappearing act, they’d both had plenty of time during the week to stay up to date on school work.

They’d fallen back into the easy comradery they were both accustomed to, and Kelly was more relieved than he could express. He’d spent the whole week worried that he’d dramatically miscalculated his best friend, and felt incredibly happy now that they’d cleared the air. It was so easy to just _be_ around Nick. His moods, for the most part, were even and cheerful. They liked the same type of activities, the same type of movies, even the same type of food, generally. Kelly was grateful to have his even tempered friend back. Ty was enough of a mood hurricane to deal with on a regular basis; he didn’t want to think what it would be like to also live with a moody Nick.

They’d settled on an action type movie that neither of them had seen and Kelly went to change into sweats. He hated lounging around in jeans and he had worn a button down shirt today, so he wanted to change that too. When he returned to the living room, Nick was spread out on the couch, his feet up.

“Hey asshole, you can’t have the whole couch, I’m not sitting up during the whole movie.” Kelly tapped Nick on the side of the head with his open hand, a gentle smack.

Nick shrugged and stretched out further. Kelly noticed that he’d changed into pajama pants and a tee as well. They were guys that liked to be comfortable. Kelly was pretty sure that if it was socially acceptable, Nick would wear pajamas to class every day.

Kelly rounded the couch and started to sit down on Nick’s legs. As he lowered, Nick grabbed his arm, pulling him enough off balance to fall sideways. Nick kept tugging until Kelly was positioned in front of him, one of Nick’s legs on either side, his arms wrapped loosely around Kelly’s midsection. Cuddling while watching a movie wasn’t unusual, they’d always been affectionate and comfortable with one another, but Kelly couldn’t help but feel a thrill of anticipation. He liked the idea of laying so close to Nick, feeling his arms around him. He wondered how he’d never noticed how solid Nick was before. He was an inviting presence and Kelly was comfortable reclining against him.

This was exactly what Kelly had meant when he said he trusted Nick, the reason that he wanted to take things further than the kisses they’d shared. They had a comfortable comradery that made Kelly feel free and easy. He enjoyed being close to Nick and he knew that Nick enjoyed it too. He was content to curl up against his friend and directed his focus to the movie.

Kelly was leery of pushing things farther without a cue from Nick as he didn’t want to pressure his friend in to anything. He forced himself to put away the thoughts of what else they could be doing while pressed against each other on the couch. When Kelly rested his head back on Nick’s upper chest, he was tentative and unsure about the motion. He didn’t want Nick to push him away or get uncomfortable, but he also didn’t want to get a stiff neck from holding it rigidly away from Nick’s chest all night. As if Nick had read his mind, his hand came up to comb through Kelly’s hair. Kelly held back the noise in his throat as Nick’s fingers tangled in his hair, resisting the urge to nuzzle closer and purr. Nick knew that Kelly was a sucker for head rubs, but Kelly didn’t have to make it obvious he was enjoying the attention.

They watched three quarters of the movie like that, with Nick petting Kelly’s hair, his other arm still wrapped around his waist. It was cozy and comfortable, and Kelly started to feel drowsy. He realized that he must have drifted off when the hand in his hair tightened a bit and shook his head gently from side to side.

“Don’t fall asleep, Kels. This is the best part.” Nick’s voice was quiet in the dark room, the only light the glow from the TV. Kelly felt warm and pliable, like he was made of something less solid than bones. He blinked his eyes open and tilted back to look at Nick. Nick’s green eyes met his for a moment before flickering back to the TV.

“Seriously. If you don’t watch I’ll stop petting you.”

Kelly made a noise of protest and diligently kept his eyes on the screen.

 

\---

 

Nick was pretty sure that spontaneous human combustion was about to be proved legitimate. He had spent the whole movie cursing himself for pulling Kelly down on top of him, but unable to prevent himself from enjoying the warm weight of his friend in his arms. He kept telling himself they weren’t doing anything they wouldn’t have done before but the problem was that his traitor body hadn’t seemed to have gotten that message. He’d given in and started playing with Kelly’s hair because he knew that Kelly liked it. He was pretty sure that Kelly wasn’t aware of the soft pleased sounds he made as Nick stroked his hands through the soft brown strands, but Nick was aware of them, and every single one shot a bolt of pleasure straight to his dick.

He wasn’t sure if he was eager for the movie to end or dreading it, and as the hero of the film came running out of the exploded building, carrying the unconscious love interest, Nick started to get twitchy. Kelly lifted his head and thumped it back against Nick’s chest, probably trying to get his attention.

“Who fell asleep now?” Kelly asked in a joking voice. “You stopped moving back there.”

Kelly’s movement caught him by surprise and Nick reacted automatically, tightening his fingers in Kelly’s hair to keep him still. Kelly huffed in a hissing breath that sounded more pleasured and less pained to Nick. He twisted his fingers a little harder in Kelly’s hair and used it to turn Kelly’s head towards him as he pressed his face close to his friend’s. 

“Hmm,” Nick spoke quietly, his mouth so close to Kelly’s that the words were spoken directly into his open mouth. “I think you like when I pull your hair like that.”

Kelly’s head was turned so he was looking at Nick behind him, his neck arched back from Nick’s grip on his hair. He made a low noise that caused Nick to have to fight to keep his grip steady and not tug too hard on Kelly’s scalp.

Nick’s tongue slipped out and brushed across Kelly’s full bottom lip but he kept their mouths apart. “What do you think, Kels?” As he asked, he tugged gently until Kelly’s head was tipped back to its apex, exposing the long line of Kelly’s throat. Kelly writhed, his breaths panting into Nick’s mouth.

“Yesss,” he groaned. “God Nick, that feels fucking good.”

Nick released his firm hold on Kelly’s hair and stroked down the side of his neck until his thumb brushed past Kelly’s adam’s apple and rested in the hollow of his throat. He kept Kelly in place with the lightest pressure, waiting long moments, anticipating the way he would taste, the way their lips would feel pressed together.

Kelly groaned again. “Stop fucking with me Nick and fucking kiss me.”

Nick closed the distance between them and kissed Kelly hard. This was no gentle brush of lips. It was bruising and fierce, teeth nipping and tongues tangling, both of them making low noises of enjoyment. Nick broke the kiss, placing a single light kiss on the corner of Kelly’s mouth before releasing him entirely. Kelly was quick to turn fully, rising to sit on his knees between Nick’s outstretched legs. Their mouths met again as Kelly’s hands came down to rest on his shoulders for balance, Nick gripping Kelly’s hips tightly.

“Fucking with you or fucking kiss you?” Nick repeated. “Are those my only options?” The words were mumbled against Kelly’s lips as their mouths met, tasting each other. Kelly gave as good as he got, kissing Nick passionately, opening for his tongue and chasing after Nick’s when it retreated. Nick stroked a hand from Kelly’s waist up his chest, coming to rest with his palm curled around Kelly’s neck. Kelly was trying to press himself closer to Nick, but their position was awkward, Kelly’s knees making him the wrong height to press their chests together.

Nick sat up and scooted back to change his angle on the couch, then urged Kelly to move to straddle his lap. As Kelly’s strong thighs opened to settle his body closer to Nick’s, they both groaned heatedly at the first brush of their hard ons against each other.

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck that’s good,” Kelly whispered hoarsely under his breath as they kissed. His hands were roaming Nick’s chest now, stroking across the muscles, down his abs to work their way under Nick’s shirt, finding the bare skin. He was tugging insistently at Nick’s shirt, forcing him to raise his arms to take it off, then swooping back down to resume their kiss.

Nick reveled in Kelly’s assault on his senses. The man was so responsive in his arms, pliant when Nick took control but so eager for more. Nick rocked his hips up to thrust against Kelly’s cock, their pants both stretched with the length of their hard dicks. He wanted to tear down both their pants and fist their cocks together, sliding against Kelly’s length. The moment the thought crossed his mind, Nick acted on it. He knew he should be taking this slow, feeling out Kelly’s comfort level, but all of Kelly’s signs pointed to a big resounding yes.

First Nick slid his hands down the back of Kelly’s sweats, grabbing the firm globes of his ass in both hands. Kelly’s moaned response encouraged him and he quickly tugged Kelly’s pants down past his thighs, releasing his cock. Nick took a moment to admire it, long and flushed deep red. The tip was weeping precum and Nick was sure he’d never seen anything sexier.

A lift and a quick tug had his own pants lowered enough to set him free. Kelly was rocking his body rhythmically against Nick’s, their cocks already brushing together with the movement. Nick steadied Kelly with one hand on his hip, and the other went to his mouth where he licked firmly across his palm before dropping the hand to their cocks. Kelly caught on to the idea quickly and positioned himself so Nick could grasp them both firmly in his spit slicked hand and jack them together.

“Nick!” Kelly’s voice was close to a shout as Nick pumped their cocks together. His gray blue eyes met Nick’s green ones and Nick could see the wildness in Kelly’s eyes. His lips were puffy from kissing and Nick watched in fascination as Kelly’s tongue flicked out to moisten them. He glanced down at their cocks, held in his fist, and brought his pumping to a slow halt.

Kelly groaned as Nick stopped working his cock and Nick grinned back at him.

“Too quick. Can’t come yet,” he panted. He lifted his head to catch Kelly’s mouth in another kiss and they stayed like that for long moments, exploring each other’s mouths. “You feel so good, Kels. I’m going to make you come so hard.”

“Please Nick, now. Keep touching me,” Kelly begged. “Need to come now.”

Nick shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll take care of you.”

Nick was past the point of no return. He wanted everything, he thought, as he continued to explore Kelly’s mouth. He didn’t think he’d ever found kissing such a turn on before, but Kelly’s mouth was irresistible. He wanted to jack Kelly off, wanted to suck him, want to slide into Kelly’s body and make them both see stars. It was almost too much for Nick’s senses and he had to shut down his thoughts to the immediate moment, and not think of all the things he could and would do to Kelly.

“Get up,” Nick said, tapping Kelly’s hip. “I want you in a bed. Take the rest of your clothes off.”

Kelly stood, his pants falling to his ankles from where they’d been stuck shoved down around his thighs.

“Damn, O’Flaherty. You get a little bossy when you’re horny.” He said it with a grin, and in one motion he slid his shirt off, baring his chest. Nick had to take a moment to admire Kelly’s naked body, his eyes raking over every inch of toned and muscled flesh.

“I’ll be more than a little bossy if you don’t get your ass to that bedroom,” Nick warned and watched the spark light in Kelly’s eyes. Nick followed directly behind him, trying to reign himself, and everything he wanted to do with Kelly, in.

 

\---

 

“What do you want?” Nick asked as Kelly threw himself down onto the bed on his back. He thought it was possible that he should feel more awkward, getting naked with his best friend, but he couldn’t force himself to worry about something he didn’t feel. Kelly had always felt like everything with Nick was easy, and this was no exception. As he laid himself back on the bed, he considered Nick’s question.

Nick was looking at him with a serious expression in his bright green eyes. Kelly cocked his head to one side and smirked up at his friend.

“What do you think I want?” he asked. “I want the D.” Kelly was completely serious. He knew it was probably unlikely that most guys jumped directly from “hey, let’s try kissing a guy” to “oh, I know, how about I take a dick in my ass?” but that didn’t seem important here. He trusted Nick. He wanted Nick. He needed to feel Nick inside of him.

Nick shook his head and looked like he was on the verge of backing away from the bed. Kelly lifted himself up to recline on his elbows.

“I can’t do that, Kels.” Nick was still shaking his head back and forth slowly, the heat in his eyes saying the opposite.

“I’m pretty sure you can, Nicko.” Kelly watched Nick’s eyes darken as he reached to stroke his own cock. He canted his hips up slightly, rocking into his own fist, meeting Nick’s gaze steadily. “You can see how much I want you, Nick. All you have to do is take it.”

Nick moved in again and a zip of excitement went through Kelly’s body, along with something a little more nervous. Nick grabbed at his wrist, taking his hand away from his cock just as Kelly was getting some good rhythm. Before he could protest, Nick was collapsing his body down on top of Kelly. Their naked bodies were aligned, head to toe, pressing every inch of skin against each other. Nick’s weight was pressing Kelly firmly into the mattress and he loved it. He’d never realized that things would be so different with a man. He’d never realized how fucking exciting it would be.

Nick had his hand pressed firmly against the bed, his hips pressed firmly over Kelly’s, pinning him in place. He dipped his head to seal their lips together, and they kissed for an eternity, grinding their bodies together. When Nick came up for air, Kelly tried again.

“I want this, Nick. I want you. I need to know how it feels.”

Kelly was starting to get exasperated as Nick shook his head again. Nick was trying to distract him with the motion of his hips against Kelly’s and his tongue that was tracing a path down Kelly’s neck.

Nick worked his mouth over to Kelly’s ear and bit the lobe softly. Kelly breathed out a shuddering moan, and Nick sucked the spot gently, as if soothing the sting. When he spoke, it was an out of breath pant into Kelly’s ear.

“Kelly, I would like nothing more than to bury my cock into your sweet fucking ass right now.” Kelly moaned his agreement and writhed against Nick’s body. “But, you said that you trusted me. That’s why you wanted this, right?”

Nick pulled back to make eye contact, waiting for Kelly to meet his gaze. Kelly nodded immediately when he realized Nick was waiting for a response.

“Then trust me. I promise that I will fuck you eventually if you want it, but not tonight. Let’s take things one step at a time, okay?”

Kelly couldn’t argue with that logic and he lifted his head to kiss Nick.

“Yes. I trust you.”

Nick repeated his last words. “One step at a time.”

Kelly nodded. “One step at a time.”

Nick grinned and sat up, kneeling between Kelly’s spread thighs. “Can you lie still for me?”

Kelly nodded again. He felt like his head was bobbing up and down on a spring. He’d do whatever Nick asked him to if it only meant he’d be getting off.

Nick leaned down for another kiss before he disappeared off the bed. Kelly turned his head to watch Nick rummage through one of the drawers but stayed still on the mattress. Nick returned with a bottle of lube and Kelly’s heart started thumping hard in anticipation.

Nick slid a hand over Kelly’s cock, pumping his shaft a few times before sliding away again.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, Kels. I want you to be screaming my name.” Kelly shuddered as the words sent a spike of arousal straight to his groin, making his cock ache and feel like it was thumping in time with his racing heart.

Nick dipped his head and Kelly’s heart almost stopped as Nick’s warm mouth covered his cock. Nick took him down to the base and made a swallowing motion with his throat that almost made Kelly shoot his load.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Nick. What the fuck is that? How are you doing.. ohhh fuck.”

Too soon, Nick took his hot mouth away from Kelly’s cock, working his way down to Kelly’s sac, lapping and sucking at it before moving to the inner curve of his thigh. Nick was focused, all of his attention on Kelly, and it was almost too much for Kelly to take. The intensity of his eyes as he looked up Kelly’s body, the feel of his mouth and tongue as it explored every inch of his skin. Kelly couldn’t do anything but lay in place and whimper and moan helplessly as Nick worked over his body with his mouth.

The warm wet heat of his mouth was driving Kelly crazy, kissing and sucking and biting its way down his legs, back up and across Kelly’s abs and chest. When Nick stopped and gave his full attention to Kelly’s nipples, Kelly started to shake. He’d never had anyone come close to exploring his body like this. It was like Nick was looking for every single one of Kelly’s erogenous zones, and stroking all of them into a frenzy. And Nick’s fucking mouth, as well. As he worked Kelly over he kept talking, telling Kelly how fucking sexy his body was, how much he was enjoying tasting it. Nick O’Flaherty had the dirtiest mouth Kelly had ever heard.

Nick had laid himself out over most of Kelly’s body, holding himself up with one arm, close enough to Kelly’s mouth to kiss him before trailing wet kisses down his neck. Nick’s other hand was caressing Kelly all over, pressing gently to widen Kelly’s thighs, spreading him open to Nick’s touch, his weigh holding Kelly down against the bed. When Nick’s hand finally made its way to Kelly’s entrance, his eyes widened as he realized the finger Nick pressed to his hole was slick with lube. He hadn’t even noticed Nick opening the bottle.

Nick continued to talk as he stroked Kelly gently. “Relax, babe. I promise not to hurt you. If you don’t like something I do, all you have to do is say the word. Let me touch you, make you feel good.” With these words, Nick was lightly stroking a finger over Kelly’s opening, massaging the lube into his skin, spreading it around to coat his ass. The finger was firm but gentle, not forcing, but coaxing Kelly into relaxing against it. When the tip of Nick’s finger gently worked its way into Kelly’s body, Kelly couldn’t stop the noises he made.

“That’s it, Kels. Let me in. I love the way it feels inside you. So hot for me. God, you feel so good.”

Kelly was sure that Nick played with his ass for an hour, patiently working his finger in a knuckle at a time. He felt every twist of Nick’s wrist, every time Nick stroked his body from the inside, until Kelly couldn’t help but move. He was riding Nick’s hand, fucking himself on it, and he didn’t care how it looked. He needed more. He needed Nick.

“More, Nick. Please. I need you. Please give me more.”

Kelly wasn’t sure if he was asking for more fingers, more movement, more stimulation. He just knew that Nick had been incrementally bringing up his level of arousal for so long that he was lost. He clung to Nick, an arm across his back, breathing into Nick’s mouth as they kissed deeply while his finger moved in and out of Kelly’s body.

“You want more?” Nick crooned in his ear. Kelly’s nod was jerky, his body straining to release without even a hand on his dick.

“I’m going to suck you now, Kels. I’m going to swallow you down until you’re coming down my throat. Then I’m going to jack off onto your pretty little hole that I’ve been fingering. Do you want that?”

Kelly’s moan was inarticulate. He wanted that so badly.

He felt Nick’s weight come off his chest and watched as Nick slithered down his body, Nick’s finger still working inside him.

“Have you ever had your ass played with before?” Nick asked, almost sounding conversational, if it wasn’t for the growling bite of his voice.

“No, just you. Only you.”

“So you’ve never been introduced to your prostate?” Nick quirked a brow at Kelly, seeming mischievous even in the middle of sex.

Before Kelly could answer, Nick was swallowing him down again. Kelly couldn’t do anything but cry out Nick’s name as he sucked his cock into his mouth deeply. At the same time as Kelly was reveling in the heat and suction of Nick’s mouth, Nick twisted his finger and slid a little deeper into Kelly’s body, stroking over and over in the same spot. With a rush of pleasure so sharp it ached, suddenly Kelly had no control left and was shouting his release. He had gone from trying to hold off on orgasm until he could enjoy Nick’s mouth to coming down his throat in a rush of tingling ecstasy as Nick stroked that spot inside him relentlessly. He didn’t stop until Kelly was whimpering and spent.

Kelly watched Nick ease off his cock and sit back on his heels. Nick was grabbing his own erection and pumping his hand over it firmly. Nick’s eyes closed and his head tipped back as he stroked himself. Kelly wanted to encourage Nick to come all over him, all over the hole Nick had just fingered, but he had no breath, so he just watched. Nick in the throes of orgasm was a beautiful fucking sight. His muscles all tensed and flexed, his shoulders hunched slightly as he came, shooting over Kelly’s body, aiming for his ass. The hot liquid splashed Kelly where he lay open to Nick and Kelly moaned again as it coated his balls, his asshole, his cock, with Nick’s come. When he was done, Nick collapsed on his side next to Kelly, his arm flung over Kelly’s chest. They lay together, panting, trying to relearn how to use their lungs. Kelly couldn’t think of anything to say.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

 

 

“So are you always this much of a surly bastard?” The words were out of Zane’s mouth before he’d decided to speak. Something about Ty Grady bothered him in the worst way. The guy was either making his dick hard or pissing him off. Sometimes both at the same time. Zane wasn’t completely sure if he liked it or wanted to punch Ty in his smirking face.

That same smirking face was looking at him now, expression inscrutable. Zane was having a lot of trouble getting a read on Grady and it was getting on his nerves. He could usually read people better than this. It was a skill that had saved his life more than once. He didn’t like that he never knew what Ty was going to say or do next. It left Zane feeling off balance and unprepared.

Ty continued to stare back at him impassively from the far side of the hotel room, the big bed stretched out between them like a barrier. Zane thought that he was considering his response, but it was possible that he was planning to ignore him entirely. He really had no clue. Right now Ty could be practicing his statue imitation.

Zane continued to keep an eye on Ty as he went about making himself at home in the hotel room. He unzipped his duffle and took out his bathroom kit. When he returned from the bathroom, Ty had stowed his duffle and equipment somewhere and was reclining on the bed, on his back with both hands behind his head. Zane could feel his pulse speed up as he tried to keep his focus on unpacking and not on the very sexy man spread out in the bed they would share that night.

The last text he’d gotten from Ty had been that morning, saying he’d be out of town for the weekend but asking what Zane was doing on Sunday night. He’d been planning to reply after talking to Digger and Eli about when the ski bus would be getting back to campus, but before he’d had the chance, Ty had appeared for the trip. Zane realized that was probably why Ty had said he’d be out of town, and assumed they’d speak at some point during the trip to confirm plans on Sunday. He hadn’t expect that Ty had no one to buddy up with for the trip, as Zane had usually seen him with other people around campus, and had assumed he was fairly popular. Really though, now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure if he had seen Ty with lots of people so much as he’d seen Ty with the same few people frequently. As though reading his thoughts, Ty spoke, jolting Zane out of his thoughts. 

“Nick and Kelly would say yes, and I have no reason to doubt them.”

It took Zane several seconds longer than was reasonable for him to realize that Ty was answering his question.

“Your best friends tell you that you’re a surly bastard?”

Ty nodded vigorously, still reclined on the bed. “Definitely.”

Zane tried to decide if Ty was messing with him, but his face was open and genuine.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

Ty made a shrug that took one of his shoulders almost up to his ear. “Can’t fight your nature.”

“You don’t think so?” Zane asked, genuinely curious to hear what Ty had to say. “You don’t think that people can change?”

Ty’s gaze went from open to guarded too quick for Zane to follow. Something about Ty’s posture now, though he was still laying in the relaxed pose, seemed threatening. There was a stillness to him where before he had buzzed with suppressed energy.

“I’m not sure.” Ty was watching him closely now and Zane had to fight the urge to go still, like a rabbit scenting a predator and freezing in fear. Zane wasn’t a rabbit, he reminded himself as forced himself to cross to the dresser to put his clothes away. He rarely fully unpacked a suitcase, preferring to take things out as needed and only unpacked things that needed to hang, but now it was giving him something to do with his hands.

Ty continued to speak as Zane stacked his thermals and socks in one of the drawers.

“Don’t they say that alcoholics are always alcoholics even when they’re not drinking? Addicts are still addicted even without the drugs.”

For a moment, Zane was unable to breathe, his vision wavered with shock or fear or something that made him want to run or fall to pieces. He felt certain that Ty wasn’t making a general comparison, that he had chosen addiction as his example on purpose to watch Zane’s reaction.

Zane had been turned away from Ty, facing the dresser, but now he pivoted slowly. Something warned him not to spin around quickly or advance on Ty unless he wanted a more physical confrontation. He saw that Ty had also moved, lowering his arms to rest by his side, but he was still lying flat on the bed on his back.

As Zane spoke, his throat felt too dry, but the words came out level even if it was a deeper tone than normal. A warning tone to anyone that knew him well. “What is your point, Grady?”

Ty shook his head. “No point, Garrett. Just making a comparison. Wanted to hear your thoughts.”

Zane raised an eyebrow. His hands were empty, as he’d just deposited clothes in the dresser, and he had to fight to keep from clenching his fists.

“You’re saying that you picked addiction as a comparison completely randomly?”

Another shake of Ty’s head. “No, not at random.”

“Why then?”

Now it was Ty’s turn to quirk a brow. “You asked me a personal question, so I asked you one.”

He said it so simply, like this was a logical response. Like he wasn’t stating something incredibly personal about Zane’s past, wasn’t dragging it out into the light with no warning. Before Zane could figure out how to respond, a knock sounded at the door to their room, at the same time they heard Eli’s voice calling out to them.

“Yo, are you guys coming to eat with us or what?” Eli was shouting through the door and knocking continuously, as if he expected to be interrupting them. Zane turn and strode across the room in two easy steps and opened the door while Eli was still mid-knock.

“No one says ‘yo’ anymore,” Zane informed Eli as the door swung open on the shorter man’s raised fist, just as he had opened his mouth to call out again. Digger was a pace behind Eli, standing in the hotel corridor.

Eli pushed past Zane and into the hotel room, greeting Ty. As Zane followed and held the door for Digger, he saw that Ty had pushed up into a seated position and was flipping through what looked like the resort’s hotel guide.

“Hey Grady, you want to grab some food with us? Me and Digger figured since you were flying solo this weekend, and you’re a friend of Zane’s, that we could make you an honorary fourth Amigo for the trip.”

Ty laughed, a bright and easy sound at odds with the way he’d be studying Zane moments before.

“Sure, Eli. That sounds good. The Three Amigos, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s what Zane’s dad used to call us when we were in our teens. We always ran around together. Now that I think about it, maybe he was being racist.” Eli had a hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.

Digger thumped him on the back. “Sanchez, you’re always thinking somebody is being racist, or you’re being racist yourself. You should just keep your mouth shut.”

Zane laughed at his friend’s antics, and a surge of gratitude ran through him. His friends were awesome.

 

\---

 

Two hours later, Zane was feeling less grateful for his friends. Ty, with his mysterious ability to shift from mood to mood without notice, had spent the evening being charming and good natured. He had joked and laughed with both Eli and Digger, barely paying any attention to Zane at all, unless one of the other guys mentioned him. Ty had asked both guys about growing up in Texas, and in Digger’s case, Louisiana as well, but hadn’t asked Zane a single question and it was pissing him off. He wasn’t going to throw a tantrum and complain that Ty was ignoring him, but he was spending the time while being ignored by all three of them to plan exactly what he’d say to Ty when he got him alone.

The worst part was how attractive Zane found Ty when he was in charming mode. While never less than striking looking, Ty seemed to grow even more attractive as he relaxed and laughed through dinner. His hazel eyes shone with good humor and his wide, full mouth quirked into an earthshattering smile. Zane hated that he was lusting after a guy that pissed him off so thoroughly.

Zane was startled by an elbow in his side and he focused on Digger to his right.

“What?” he asked.

“Dude, Eli has been talking about your foray into Boy Scouts in minute detail for over five minutes and you haven’t threatened to shut him up once. What’s up with you?”

Zane blinked rapidly, trying to rewind to the last few minutes of conversation. He must have been more zoned out than he’d thought if he was missing the telling of one of his most embarrassing life moments.

He looked around the table and Eli and Ty were both smirking at him, while Digger just looked concerned. He had no idea what point he had lost the conversation so badly, but there wasn’t really any recovery for it now.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just tired. Didn’t sleep that well last night.”

Zane heard Ty snort before he remembered that he and Ty had traded some reasonably heated texts the previous night before bed. Great, now the guy was going to think that he was keeping Zane awake at night, lusting for his body. Even if it was true that Grady had featured in Zane’s dreams more than once over the last week, there was no way Zane was going to admit that.

When they made eye contact, Ty’s eyes were practically dancing with suppressed mirth, but when Ty spoke it was with a normal voice, not one with laughter in it.

“I know what you mean, I’ve had a long week too, and I want to hit the slopes first thing. Probably a good idea to head to bed.”

Ty stood as he spoke and the others quickly followed, making noises of agreement. Eli was the only protestor.

“Come on, guys. You can’t go to bed early on a Friday night! We’re in college, we’re supposed to be having fun!”

No one rose to Eli’s challenge and soon all four were headed back to their rooms.

 

\---

 

Ty couldn’t say that he was at all surprised to find himself backed against the wall of the hotel room as soon as Zane had said his final goodnights to his friends. The other man pushed Ty back by invading his space, pressing against him and forcing Ty flat to the wall. Ty felt his cock grow hard with just the closeness that Zane forced, before they even touched more than chest to chest. Zane’s arms were up on either side of Ty’s head, emphasizing his size advantage. Ty couldn’t help but be turned on and also amused at the display.

“Why are you fucking smirking at me right now, Grady?” Zane growled his words, his lips hovering over Ty’s, separated just enough for their mouths to move without touching.

“I just think you’re funny, Garrett. You accuse me of being surly, but then spend all night not saying more than two words at a time.”

“Funny, huh?” Zane was breathing hard, practically panting, his chest heaving against Ty’s. It seemed to Ty like he was trying to crowd him and make him uncomfortable, but all it was doing was making him horny.

“Funny like you trying to figure out if I’m an addict?” Zane’s voice was a low growl.

“I knew you were an addict from the first time I saw you, Zane. I’ve watched you putting your life back together, getting healthier. I know what that’s like, I can respect how hard it is.” Ty maintained steady eye contact as he spoke and watched as Zane’s face closed down.

“What do you know about being broken, Tyler Grady?”

Ty shook his head carefully. He wasn’t going there. Not now. Not ever. Instead he rolled his hips, thrusting his erection against Zane’s. “Are we going to talk all night or are we going to start getting naked?”

Zane growled again, a low sound of frustration and desire, before crushing Ty’s lips with his own. Ty responded to the hard kiss with just as much force, giving and taking as Zane assaulted his mouth. For long moments they stood like that, pressed together from shoulder to thigh and mouths locked together, but their hands stayed still, not touching each other. Ty kept his palms pressed against the wall behind him, giving as good as he got but not advancing past what Zane offered.

Zane tasted the same as he had the first time they kissed. Ty had no idea how to describe it, but he tasted like Zane, familiar in a strange way. Their tongues tangled, hot and wet, pressing and licking at each other. Zane ground against Ty’s hips, keeping him locked against the wall. As the kiss slowed after an eternity of war, to something more gentle, more filled with building heat than building rage, Ty felt Zane’s arms slide down the wall. They stopped at his hips, both of Zane’s hands tightening against his sides.

Ty had never been with someone his size, or in Zane’s case, larger. He was on the tall size at 6’3” and well built, so all of his previous hook ups had been shorter and usually less muscled as well. He was a little surprised to find that he liked the way Zane could overwhelm him. He liked that Zane’s hands were a little too rough as they found their way under his shirt and stroked over his skin. Zane’s fingers stroked roughly over his chest and sides, around to dip beneath the edge of his pants in the back.

Ty reached up to wind one hand through Zane’s hair, tangling his fingers in the dark strands. It wasn’t long enough to grip tight, but long enough to muss and pull slightly. He kissed his way across Zane’s jaw and down the column of his neck as Zane’s hands clenched to pull his hips forward and into Zane’s. His skin was very slightly salty and tasted good against Ty’s tongue. Zane shuddered and bucked against Ty when Ty’s teeth nipped his skin.

Zane pulled hard and stepped back in the same motion, maneuvered Ty backward to the bed, collapsing down on top of him. Their bodies writhed together, thrusting through the fabric of their pants. Ty felt impatient as he used his free hand to try to tug at the fastening to Zane’s jeans, but couldn’t get his hand at the right angle between them. With a growl of his own, Ty surged up, wrapping his arms around Zane’s shoulders, pushing him off balance so that Ty could roll him over. Once on top he sat up and quickly shucked his shirt, unbuttoning his pants as well as Zane’s before he leaned back to take Zane’s mouth in another kiss.

“Jesus, Ty. Need to be inside you now,” Zane said in between their mouths meeting. Ty didn’t even try to hold back his grin, rocking his hips into Zane, smiling against his mouth. He slid from his spot straddling Zane to stand at the end of the bed. They were both pulling off the rest of their clothes, both breathing hard like they’d been running flat out.

Zane reached out to run a hand over Ty’s chest, down his abs. Ty knew he should be proud of his body, and he was, but the way Zane touched it, it felt like more than appreciation. When Zane’s hand reached Ty’s cock, he felt the pleasure zip through his body. Zane stroked him firmly, one hand sliding over the head to spread the wetness there, before stroking the shaft, the other reaching to cup Ty’s balls. Ty let his head fall back and his eyes close as Zane stroked him. Zane’s touch was hot, his hands felt molten wherever they touched his skin.

When Ty’s knees started to weaken he urged Zane back down onto the bed, spreading his legs to straddle Zane’s naked body. He lined his cock up with Zane’s, who seemed to catch on quickly, wrapping his large hand around both of them, stroking them together with each pump of his hand.

Forcing his eyes open despite his desire to sink wholly into the sensations, Ty watched as Zane moved underneath him. Zane’s dark eyes were focused intently on where he held their thick lengths in his hand, watching himself stroke them together. He seemed to feel Ty’s eyes on him and flicked his glance up. Ty’s hips were moving sinuously in time with the stroking and he let his enjoyment show on his face. Zane moaned, open mouthed sounds of pleasure spilling from him as Ty rode him.

Ty felt his balls drawing up, the pressure getting more intense as he got closer to the finish. He lowered his body to press against Zane’s, forcing him to stop the rhythmic stroking as his hand was trapped between them. Ty nipped and kissed along Zane’s chest and neck before speaking into his ear.

“Either you fuck me now or I come all over your dick if you keep stroking me like that.” Zane responded to Ty’s words with a groan and captured his mouth in another kiss.

Moments later, Zane had Ty pressed face down into the mattress, his hips canted up, knees spread wide. Zane had disappeared for the briefest moment and Ty knew that he’d gotten lube when a slicked up finger was pressing against his entrance. Ty wriggled impatiently, trying to thrust back to force Zane deeper. It felt like hours passed as Zane ignored Ty’s urgings, instead pressing one hand against Ty’s back to hold him in place, using the other to slowly open Ty’s body with his searching finger.

Ty’s impatience grew as it took Zane forever to add a second finger, and finally a third, but eventually he was rewarded with the sound of Zane ripping open a condom wrapper behind him. He turned his head to watch Zane roll the condom down his cock, then liberally coat himself with more lube. Ty turned back and pressed his forehead to the bed. He was on the edge of begging and tried to keep the words inside as Zane took forever before he positioned his cock at Ty’s entrance. Ty’s groan was loud and heated as he tried to thrust back, to force Zane inside him, but the angle was wrong without assistance, only sliding Zane’s slick cock across his hole.

Before he could stop them, words were spilling out of his mouth. “God damnit, Garrett. If you don’t get your fucking dick inside me now, I swear I’ll pin you down and fuck myself on it.”

Zane’s chuckle almost sent Ty upright, he was stopped by a firm hand between his shoulder blades. He fought the restraint only a little, his arms reaching back to try to grab onto Zane, to pull him closer or push him away he wasn’t sure.

“I’d like to watch that sometime.”

Before Ty could decide if using actual fighting techniques to regain control was reasonable in this situation, Zane was apparently done with the teasing. Ty swore a steady stream as Zane pushed slowly into his body, sliding first past the tight ring of muscles and slowly filling him up without pause until he was as deep as he could go. Zane waited several heartbeats, his hips pressed firmly against Ty as he was buried inside him. He leaned forward and kissed across Ty’s shoulders, down his spine, before breathing words into Ty’s ear.

“You good?” he asked.

Ty swore again, calling Zane things even he would hesitate to repeat in the future.

The same low chuckle was almost the end for Ty, but it was followed by Zane pulling back and thrusting forcefully back into him. Zane set up a steady rhythm, hard enough to overwhelm all of Ty’s senses. Their bodies slapped together on every thrust and Ty felt like Zane was going to drive him across the mattress, but for the hands holding him firmly at shoulder and hip. Neither of them were speaking, both focusing on finding and maintaining that perfect rhythm, the perfect slide of their bodies against each other. Zane changed the angle of his thrust, looking for that spot deep inside Ty as he held him firmly. When he found it, Ty cried out and Zane slowed, thrusting over the same spot again and again.

Then Zane’s arms wrapped around Ty and pulled him up, pressing his back against Zane’s chest, Zane’s arms holding him upright. Ty let his head fall back against Zane’s shoulder and their mouths met again, tasting each other. The new angle didn’t allow Zane to fuck Ty as deeply, though it did allow him to roam a hand across Ty’s body, tweaking nipples and stroking abdominal muscles before wrapping around his cock.

“Close,” Ty panted. It was all the warning he could give and Zane took it, pushing Ty back down until his shoulders were flat to the bed. He continued to stroke Ty in time to his thrusts, varying the speed of both. Zane found that spot inside Ty again and tremors started all over Ty’s body.

Ty clenched his ass around Zane’s cock, all of his nerve endings firing at once as he came in a rush of sensation, shouting his release, Zane stroking him firmly through it. Ty reached an arm back to grab Zane’s hip, urging him to continue thrusting when his motions slowed. The rhythm stuttered as Zane lost his composure, thrusting wildly several times as he flooded the condom. Ty watched over his shoulder as Zane came, his head tipped back, eyes squeezed shut to block out any other input, the long line of his throat exposed as he moaned his release.

Zane’s motions were gentle as he pulled out of Ty, running his hands over his back and sides, stroking him with feather light touches.  Ty collapsed face down on the bed as Zane disappeared for a moment to dispose of the condom, before returning with a warm washcloth. They cleaned up a bit and then settled into the bed together, limbs tangled, still breathing hard and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Ty lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling, with Zane wrapped around him. Zane’s head was on his shoulder, Ty’s arm around behind him, and one of Zane’s legs was thrown over his. They hadn’t discussed the arrangement, Zane having simply crawled back into the bed and positioned himself around Ty. His eyes were heavy, so he closed them, and he drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so since school started for Spring quarter I have been so busy I've only been able to write in brief moments, so my always erratic schedule has gotten even worse. 
> 
> I wanted to thank everybody who has commented, it makes me feel so lovely that people are enjoying the story. You guys are the best and it fills my little writer heart with joy to hear from you!! 
> 
> I'm literally posting this chapter in the minutes before a class begins as I just finished it, and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. If there are any typos/issues please let me know since I didn't have much time for review. :)

Chapter Nine

 

Nick woke to the feeling of being watched. He didn’t know _how_ he knew someone was watching him, but he could feel it. Maybe he was developing some type of extra-sensory perception. That would be cool. He blinked his eyes open and was unsurprised to find Kelly the one doing the watching. Realistically, Nick would probably have been pretty freaked out if it was anyone else, since he was pretty much wrapped around the guy’s entire body, and could feel a hard dick that wasn’t his own pressing up against his thigh. He could feel his own hardness as well, of course, and it was doing some pressing of its own, in a way that tried to distract him from the reason he’d woken up.

Before he could get too far off track, which was ridiculously easy prior to caffeine consumption and with a hard on, no less, he spoke.

“Dude, are you just lying there staring at me?”

Kelly’s infectious grin made an appearance and Nick couldn’t help the smile he gave in response. He’d been nervous last night, going to sleep after getting off with his best friend, that things would be awkward in the morning. He’d never stayed over after hooking up, but he didn’t really have much option when they lived in the same room. He’d even thought for a second about trying to sleep in the other room, in Ty’s empty bed, but he’d known that it would just make things even more awkward. What Nick hadn’t accounted for was Kelly. This was Kelly, and that made all the difference.

“If last night was step one, how many steps are there until you put your dick in my ass?”

“Jesus Christ, Kel! When did you flip your sex drive on to turbo?” Nick fought his impulse to jump out of the bed, knowing it would be a useless attempt at distance. Kelly would just follow.

“About 12 seconds after you kissed me.”

Nick pouted his lip and tried for a hurt look. “It took 12 seconds?”

Nick laughed along with Kelly and thanked the powers that be that he had such a laidback friend. Nick could forget what a ridiculously bad idea this was when Kelly was being his usual unruffled self.   Nick flinched as Kelly’s hand darted out to dig in below his ribs, and he squirmed away from the assault on his ticklish spot.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Kelly reminded.

“You didn’t either.”

“Oh. I was willing you to wake up with my mind.”

Nick boggled at Kelly for a moment, trying to determine if Kelly’s straight face was hiding the fact that he was screwing with him.

“Seriously?” he finally asked.

Kelly’s blue-today eyes rolled and he resumed his tickling with extra vigor. “No, you dumbass, I opened my eyes right before you did.”

“We woke up at exactly the same time?” Nick queried, trying to fend off Kelly’s attack by drawing up his knees to create more space between them. Unfortunately this left his ass hanging perilously off the edge of the bed and he had to cling to Kelly’s forearms with both hands for support.

“Ack! Quick! Save me!” Nick scrambled for better purchase as Kelly tried to loosen his grip on his arms. Kelly won the scuffle and Nick tumbled off the bed and landed ass first on the hard wood floor.

“Ouch.”

Kelly was peering down at him from the bed as Nick lay sprawled out on the floor. “Yeah, that probably wasn’t your best move ever.”

 

\---

 

Zane woke to an empty bed, surprised at the lurch his stomach gave upon rolling over to find the sheets where Ty had slept cold. He’d woken just after 6 to use the bathroom and Ty had been curled up in a tight ball with his head buried under the pillows. Glancing at the clock, Zane found that it was just after 8, so Ty must have left not long after Zane had managed to fall back asleep. He wasn’t sure why he was so disappointed. In fact, the night before he’d been concerned that Ty’s appearance would put a damper on his weekend with Eli and Digger, but now he couldn’t deny that the feeling in his gut was disappointment that Ty wouldn’t be hitting the slopes with them that morning.

Before he could dwell on that confusing mix of thoughts, Zane forced himself out of bed and into the shower. He was unable to completely wipe the memory of a certain well-built, hazel eyed man from his head, but he managed to get ready without mooning over him or doing something embarrassing, like phoning to check where the guy had disappeared to. Clearly Ty had come on the trip to ski, and that’s what he was doing. He didn’t have to report his every move to Zane, or even spend time with him. He’d likely only gone to dinner with Zane and his friends the night before to be polite, not because he wanted to spend non-naked time with Zane.

Despite reminding himself of this, and all of the other reasons it was a very bad idea to let himself get hung up on Ty, Zane couldn’t help but keep an eye out for Grady’s familiar form while grabbing breakfast with his friends. Ty wasn’t in the breakfast room, and Zane forced himself to stop checking the faces of everyone who entered, and turned his focus back to the conversation at his table, just as Digger was imparting a bit of wisdom.

“People from the south aren’t built for weather like this,” Digger was saying, shuddering dramatically like he was outside in a blizzard. “I don’t see why you all want to strap some pieces of plastic to our feet and try to slide around on them, but it doesn’t seem natural to me.”

Zane couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his friend, whose expression showed that he was completely serious. While Zane’s family had taken ski trips to places like Aspen and Park City every winter, making him familiar with skiing and snowboarding, most Texans regarded winter sports with a combination of dread and confusion much like what Digger was currently displaying.

“Of course it’s not natural, son! That’s what makes it fun!” Eli’s tone was cheerfully dismissive of Digger’s concern as he patted him on the back. Of the three of them, Zane was the only one with previous experience skiing, a realization he hadn’t considered before agreeing to the trip. He hoped there were classes for beginners available. The last time he’d tried to teach Eli and Digger something, they’d gotten into a three way fist fight over the top of a table of cards and poker chips, after a disagreement about whose hand was better. The tussle had led to Eli’s mom banning card playing entirely in the future. The fact that they’d been about 12 years old at the time didn’t seem like enough reassurance that history wouldn’t be repeating itself today.

About to ask if either of them had thought to check the instructor schedule, Zane was interrupted by the ringing of Eli’s cell phone. For a brief moment before realizing that he did not have any Spanish hip-hop programmed into his device, Zane had thought it might be Ty calling him. He shook his head at himself as he listened to Eli’s half of the conversation. Since his friend was speaking in rapid fire Spanish that even the fluent Zane was having trouble keeping up with, he knew that Eli was talking to someone in his family. When his expression grew concerned and the words became more heated, Zane stopped eating his omelet to focus his attention on his friend. When Eli hung up the phone with a disgusted expression on his face, Zane inquired.

“Everything okay at home, E?”

Eli’s slumped posture and frustrated expression told the story before he started to speak.

“Not exactly. Shara didn’t come home last night and Mama thinks she got back together with that _cabron,_ Sebastian.”

Zane groaned at the news, with Digger’s words of sympathy echoing his own.

“That sucks, E. What makes your mom think she’s with him again?”

Eli’s younger sister was 16 and was quickly making up for the fact that Eli hadn’t managed to turn his parents completely gray-haired during his youth. Shara had been on again off again dating a guy that the three of them had gone to high school with, and up until now everyone, including Eli’s family, had thought the guy was out of the picture for good. The fact that she hadn’t come home the previous night was a good indication, as Sebastian lived on his own, and Shara had been known to stay with him in the past when she didn’t want to face her parents.

“Mama called Misty when Shara didn’t make it home by curfew last night, and Misty told her that Shara had mentioned meeting up with him recently. Obviously, she didn’t mention it to the family, since everyone would have thrown down if she had.”

Zane knew that Misty was Shara’s best friend and in the same grade in school, the two girls had always been inseparable. He was actually surprised that Misty had admitted to something that Shara was keeping from her family, and Zane wondered if even the other teenage girl could see how bad this guy was for her friend.

“Is there anyone who can go check and maybe bring her home?” Zane asked, but Eli was shaking his head before the question was finished.

“Grant is in San Diego and Lisa is doing her semester in France,” Zane nodded as Eli explained, remembering belatedly that Eli’s other siblings were out of state right now as well. Grant, the oldest Sanchez sibling, had graduated from college the year before and had taken a job in California, and Lisa, who was a junior at U of T in Dallas, was normally close enough when their parents needed a hand, but was currently studying abroad. Zane felt a flash of guilt that he had taken Eli so far away from his close-knit family, but tried to focus on the issue instead of his own problems.

“Your dad can’t…?” Zane trailed off this time as Eli shook his head again. Apparently he’d covered all these ideas already.

“Last time Dad and Sebastian saw each other, Dad almost hit him because of the way he talked to him. Dad doesn’t like to lose his temper…” Eli trailed off.

Zane was surprised to hear that the elder Sanchez had a temper to lose, since he’d never even seen the older man raise his voice, let alone do anything violent.

“Mama says she’ll come home when she gets hungry, like she’s a fucking stray dog, and I know they’re at the end of their ropes with her. I just wish I was closer.”

Zane felt a stronger surge of guilt this time. He knew he was the only reason that Eli was going to college thousands of miles from home, and he couldn’t be more grateful to his closest friends for following him when he ran, but sometimes he wondered if he shouldn’t have tried harder to change their minds.

Before Zane could say anything, Eli continued.

“I was thinking of going down there over mid-winter break, the long weekend we’ve got coming up?” Zane nodded.

“Maybe we should all go,” he suggested, trying not to glance purposefully at Digger as he spoke. Eli and Zane’s family both were fairly well off financially, but Digger’s only family was his Grandmother, who had raised him. She lived on her retirement comfortably, but there wasn’t money for extras like a last minute flight home. Zane and Eli would be happy to pay for the ticket, but sometimes Digger refused what he thought of as charity.

Zane was surprised when Digger replied almost immediately. “I think that’s a good idea. Besides, at least it will be warm there.” Zane and Eli both laughed as Digger found yet another way to complain about the northwestern winter.

 

\---

Having a plan in mind, and knowing that he’d be seeing his family soon seemed to cheer Eli up immensely. Zane felt bad that he hadn’t noticed that his friend had seemed down until he wasn’t anymore, but he didn’t know what to do about it. It was becoming apparently that his friends were really good about taking care of him when he needed it, and he wasn’t as confident that he had been doing the same. As he made his way to one of the intermediate runs after leaving Digger and Eli in the capable hands of a resort provided instructor, he made himself a promise that he’d start paying more attention. After all, Eli and Digger had both been there every second that Zane had needed them, the very least he could do would be to do the same.

While thinking about paying more attention, he actually had paid very little attention to his surroundings and was surprised to recognize the lithe figure cutting his way down the slope in front of him. Tyler Grady. The guy he’d been looking for all morning showed up when Zane had finally managed to put him out of his head. Of course.

Zane pushed off and made his way down the slope, cutting a path some distance from Ty, but keeping an eye on him. Grady was a good skier, and it made Zane wonder if there was anything the guy wasn’t good at. He snorted as his own unintentional innuendo, having meant that Ty had seemed like an excellent kickboxer from his observation of his time in the ring with Kelly. Not that the other wasn’t true as well. Ty had an intensity to him in bed that Zane had never experienced before. He quickly tried to turn his thoughts to other topics before he got turned on while skiing, which seemed like a remarkably bad idea. 

He was actually surprised that Ty was skiing, he had figured him for more of the snowboarding type. He could imagine Ty executing flips and tricks, throwing himself head first into danger on every run. It fit what he knew of Ty’s personality and Zane wouldn’t be surprised if he found out that Ty boarded as well. Zane preferred the precision of skiing, the speed of flying downhill, the freedom it provided. He had learned to ski when he was very young and had never bothered to try out a snowboard. He finished the run moments after Ty and could see in the tightening of Ty’s posture that said Ty had noticed him.

Zane didn’t try to hold back a sneer. What the fuck? The guy could spend all night naked and sweaty with him, but tensed up when he saw him in public? He was just starting to angle towards Grady to tell him exactly what he thought of that kind of assholery when his left ski lost firm footing on the snow pack. Zane was close to a rather large pine tree, having been paying more attention to Ty than the path his skiing had taken him on, and found that he was actually too close. The snow around the base of the tree wasn’t firm because the overhanging branches had prevented it from building up evenly. There was actually a hole around the whole base of the tree, and the snow at the edge, with pressure from Zane’s weight, had started crumbling toward the trunk.

A mini-avalanche later and Zane was in a heap of tangled legs and skis, flat on his back in the hole the tree and snow had created. Before he could get his bearings and get to his feet, a familiar face popped over the edge of the snow.

“You’re not supposed to ski into the trees,” Ty said, a look of smug satisfaction on his tanned face as he looked down at Zane. Zane’s response was unrepeatable, as he cursed at Ty and flailed around to get his boots unlatched from his skis. Ty opened his mouth to respond but his eyes widened comically as the snow underneath him started to crumble. He’d gotten to close to the unstable edge in his desire to mock Zane, and now he was sliding down to share Zane’s prison, on a wave of cascading snow.

“What the actual fuck?” Ty shouted. “How did that even happen?” Ty had managed to keep his feet, as it appeared he had unhooked from his skis before approaching the edge, so he wasn’t tangled up like Zane.

Zane’s response was an amused drawl and he relished the expression on Ty’s face. “What, you thought I hopped in for a little nap? The edge was unstable and you walked right up to it, dumbass.”

“You fell in first, so who’s the dumbass?” Ty retorted.

“I’m thinking the one that knew it was unstable and wandered over to the edge anyway.”

“Fuck you, I was going to save your ass, but now I’m going to leave you down here.”

Zane snorted. “You’re planning to get out without my help and then, what? Prevent me from getting out the same way?” he asked.

“No, I’m planning to strangle you and then leave your cold, dead body down here where no one will find you until Spring.”

Zane couldn’t help but release a full out laugh at that. He liked how quick Ty was with snappy comebacks that he couldn’t even get frustrated at the bickering and threats. It took several moments before the reality of their situation overcame the flush of pleasure that came from being in Ty’s company. Studying Ty, Zane realized his companion had reached the same conclusion.

“We’re going to freeze to death.” Ty stated matter of factly.

“That seems unlikely,” Zane replied. “At the worse, Digger and Eli will figure out that I’m missing and send someone to look for us eventually.”

“Eventually?” Ty repeated. “Eventually is long enough for hypothermia to set in and –“

“Alright negative Nancy, what do you propose then? Shall we form a human pyramid of two and vault our way out?”

Ty didn’t respond and Zane found himself being stared at by hazel eyes that were widened with indignation.

“Did you just call me Nancy?”

“Are you worried that the fall affected your hearing?” Zane was having trouble keeping the smile off his face, but he tried for an expression of concern.

Ty’s only response was to growl at him before pacing the length and width of their small, icy prison. He kept glancing up toward the top of the cavern, as if to judge the distance. The lip of the hole was several feet above Zane’s head, meaning it was probably nine feet deep or so. Zane was content to watch Ty as he prowled around, muttering under his breath occasionally. Despite the reassurance he’d give Ty, he was actually a little concerned about their wellbeing. It was cold and while they were dressed for the weather, even temperature appropriate clothing wasn’t designed to keep you warm indefinitely.

“You know, if you hadn’t followed me in, you could have gone for help and I’d be rescued by now.” Zane almost regretted the words as Ty’s full attention returned to him. The dude could be a little intense.

“If you hadn’t been so busy checking out my ass, _neither_ of us would have fallen in!”

Zane opened his mouth to protest the accusation, but closed it again when he couldn’t come up with a good response. While not specific to his ass, it was true that Zane had been paying more attention to Ty than to where he was putting his skis. That didn’t explain Ty’s descent, but it was enough to shut Zane up for the moment.

“The longer we stay here, the less likely it will be that we can get ourselves out, and the more energy we’ll expend trying. We should be okay for temperature for awhile, especially if we’re moving around, but eventually we’ll need to conserve our strength if we can’t self-rescue.” Ty spoke with experience and obvious knowledge that made Zane wonder where an 18 year old had learned survival and rescue skills. Before he could ask, Ty continued.

“We need to put something up at the top that the Ski Patrol can see, or they might walk right by and miss us. What do you have that’s brightly colored?”

As Ty continued to plot, Zane was content to follow the other man’s lead. It was strange for him to be so willing to take a backseat, but he was confident that if one of them was going to get them out of the situation, it was more likely to be Ty.


End file.
